FLUORITE phantoms from Namibia! 10-8-08
A new find of beautiful fluorites, priced $50-1800

OLD EUROPEAN CLASSICS COLLECTION! 10-8-08
Part one of a 4-part update consisting of nearly 300 specimens from an old classics locality collection assembled mostly between 1890-1925 in Germany.

Fine Specimen Auctions with $1000 reserves! - Auctions end Oct. 16th at 8 PM
Continuing a summer experiment in auctions of high quality pieces, these are a dozen very good mineral specimens, all worth $2000 and more, at $999 reserve prices (less than I paid, in nearly all cases).

NEW FIND: PURPLE SCAPOLITE - Afghanistan! 9-24-08

A total surprise for me, intense purple scapolites, most of them ranging from translucent to transparent, from Afghanistan. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS FIND

NEW FIND: HELVITE - China! 9-24-08

World class crystals of this rarity, from the spessartine mines in Fujian, China. Who knew?!

NEW FIND: RHODONITE from Brazil! 9-22-08

Continuing a slow trickle from this old manganese mine , we have obtained several small parcels of large , cherry-red rhodonite crystals! Although these have been coming out in dribs and drabs for a year or so now, the pieces selected here from our lots are some of the best overall examples in one place that we have seen to date from this mine.

NEW FIND: MATRIX SPESSARTINE GARNET from Tanzania! 9-22-08

Stunning sharp golfball-shaped crystals, now coming out in matrix from lower layers of the same deposit which produced freefloating crystals for the Tucson show 7 months ago!

NEW MINERAL ARTIST ! 9-10-08

My good friend Gamini Ratnavira, an internationally-known wildlife artist famous for his scenes of rain forests, has been subverted to the Dark Side and now not only paints minerals, but has begun a collection of choice, aesthetic toenail and thumbnail-sized specimens. Please have a look at some of his work, which in deference to "our hobbyist world" is offered at about 1/4 the price his small bird and frog paintings sell for in the art world. These are the first-ever prints he has released of his few mineral paintings, which in the past have been private commission works. Look for his exhibit at Tucson 2009.

NEW FIND: WORLD-CLASS NIFONTOVITE, a rarity from Mexico! 9-4-08

Stunning gem crystals, competition thumbnail worthy, of a mineral usually found only as tiny grains!.

QUARTZ from NAMIBIA!
The Oranje River area of Namibia has produced, in a trickle over many years, a small flow of really unusual quartz specimens, many included and colored by hematite. This is an interesting and diverse selection from the private Quartz collection of dealer Charlie (Locke) Key, after whom the Tsumeb minerals Keyite and Ludlockite are named. Charlie was the pre-eminent Namibian dealer for 20 years and more and remains active today as well. We purchased his collection some time ago and are releasing it in stages: Here is the bulk of his 20-year collection of Oranje River Quartz, as displayed at the Tucson 2007 Mineral show.

Radioactives Collection! 8-20-08

These are rare species specimens from the collection of a prominent Belgian exploration geologis,t who obtained these in the heyday of the mines, mostly some 20-40 years ago.

VIETNAM! 8-15-08

A beautiful assortment of spinels and a ruby, from Vietnam.

NEW GALLERY OF COLLECTOR GEMSTONES! 8-12-08

This is a project I have been meaning to do for awhile,that will spin off on to a new website in time. Here you will find our first ever gallery exclusively dedicated to both collector gem stones (mostly rare species), and a new way of showing cut gems with specimens in Cut & Rough sets designed to go together on a single lucite base for easy display!

NEW FIND: PYROLUSITE from NEW MEXICO !
(NEW SPECIMENS ADDED AUGUST 5, 2008)
A truly surprising find of pyrolusite crystals of high quality, from New Mexico. I had seen some of these from time to time in old collections, but not in recent years - apparently the old locale has been rediscovered and a single large pocket was found just a week before the Tucson show.

RARE SPECIES and HISTORIC LOCALITY PIECES
(over 150 specimens! Updated JULY 31,2008)
Mixed new rare species and historic specimens

NEW FIND: MALACHITE PSEUDOMORPHS from SONORA!
(posted July 25, 2008)
Although some (usually smaller) malachite pseudos have trickled out with the recent finds of azurite at this new copper specimen locality since fall of 2007, this is the first really large pocket of uniformly good malachite plates I have seen. Many feature robust crystals of 1.5-2 cm forming floater clusters, and have a rich velvety color to them reminiscent of classic old pieces from Tsumeb (but at a lot cheaper prices, given the pricing on Tsumeb minerals since the mine closed!). I picked up the whole pocket directly from the source, who pulled an allnighter to drive them up to the US a few weeks ago.

NEW FIND: CUPRIAN ADAMITE from MAPIMI!
(posted July 25, 2008)
A shocking find out of Mapimi, which has been "boring" for many years otherwise compared to its past productivity in the 1980s. Shocking color and brilliant lustre make these the best adamites to come out in a long time.

GRESSMAN THUMBNAIL COLLECTION - SUMMER SALE!
(7-25-08)
A group of exceptionally choice, pristine, elegant thumbnail specimens selected by a well-known collector (and honorable Min Record president), Tom Gressman. SUMMER SALE - 33% OFF MARKED PRICES

MARTIN LEWADNY COLLECTION - - SUMMER SALE!
This was going to be a fresh surprise of choice, colorful, affordable specimens for my front tables at the Tucson main show, but I did NOT HAVE ROOM anymore to put out everything I wanted to take. So...this update contained over 100 specimens from the collection of a Canadian friend, Marty Lewadny. It is a mixture of pieces both historic and contemporary, with a slant towards aesthetic miniatures...reasonably priced $200-1500 with a few outliers. SUMMER SALE - 25% OFF MARKED PRICES (MISSING SOME IMAGES, SORRY...this should be fixed over the weekend)

RARE ANTIQUE MINERALOGY BOOKS - SUMMER SALE!
A selection of interesting and rare old mineralogy books from the private collection of Herb Obodda
SUMMER SALE - 33% OFF MARKED PRICES

over 100 MIXED NEW SPECIMENS !
(JUNE 24, 2008)
Mixed new specimens from Tucson show acquisitions: including gem crystals; more rarities; new finds from China and Brazil; and specimens from the historic Philadelphia Academy collection.

RUSSIAN CLASSICS under $1000
(JUNE 9, 2008)
Minerals from Russia, almost all under $1000 ! This is a trove of 5 flats we had purchased from a Russian dealer at Tucson 2007, many "classics" from a few years ago that you don't see as often today

SCHEELITE - new find, from PAKISTAN
(MAY 27, 2008)
A surprising small find of pegmatitic scheelites from the gem-producing regions of Pakistan!

DEACCESSIONS FROM THE RICHARD KOSNAR COLLECTION
(MAY 27, 2008)
This update contains 2 dozen specimens from the collection and dealer stock of the multigenerational Kosnar family of mineral dealers, including several choice old classics from the collection of the late Richard A. Kosnar.

NEW FIND: SCORODITE from CHINA !
(MAY 22, 2008)
A shocking, completely surprising, out-of-the blue find from China! This new find will esepcially please people who could have never expected to own a visually fine, significant scorodite specimen given their scarcity and pricing on the market. Such finds, that literally redefine the standard obtainable for the modern collector of a species that came traditionally from defunct localities , simply do not appear often. But they do happen, and usually come and go and themselves become classics down the road.

NEW FIND: PURPLE TOPAZ from BRAZIL!
(APRIL 24, 2008)
A rare pocket of genuinely purple topaz, not pink and not red, from the famous mines for imperial orange topaz. I am aware of only three such finds of any significance in the last 20 years. These are beautiful, glowing, gemmy and sparkling crystals highgraded from the lot IN brazil by a colleague of mine. AND YES, they are 100% natural and untreated!

Herbertsmithite - rare copper species!
(APRIL 19, 2008)
A rare (and luckily, beautiful) copper species from this TYPE LOCALITY area, these specimens with superb and eye-visible crystals for the species.

NEW PHOTOS and SPECIMENS ADDED:
SPESSARTINE GARNET from TANZANIA!
NOW POSTED: 40 THUMBNAILS, priced $100-up
(APRIL 18, 2008)
An unprecedented find of razor-sharp, translucent to transparent, red and orange garnet crystals from Tanzania, the biggest surprise of this year's Tucson show! These crystals were found in a surface deposit on Maasai Land near the national park, and were all dug between december and january, redefining what you can expect in Garnet floaters! Selections from $200-on up!

BIPYRAMIDAL WULFENITE crystals from MAPIMI!
(posted APRIL 18, 2008)
A shocking find out of Mapimi, which has been "boring" for nearly 20 years otherwise. These wulfenites are not only locality specimens of note, but have a radically different crystal form than most other wulfenites.

TSUMEB!
(APRIL 10, 2008)
An interesting and diverse selection from the stashed Tsumeb collection of Charlie (Locke) Key, after whom the Tsumeb minerals Keyite and Ludlockite are named. Charlie was the pre-eminent Tsumeb dealer from the US for 20 years and more. We purchased his collection some time ago and are releasing it in stages.

POSTED March 24 : MIXED NEW FINDS from TUCSON cntd.!
(March 24, 2008)
This is a mix of over 50 specimens on THREE NEW PAGES covering a few of the smaller new finds, or cherrypicks from larger finds, that came up at the show. Page 4 is all rarities, old and new Expect more updates to come!

MIXED NEW FINDS from TUCSON I!
This is a mix of several dozen specimens from a few smaller new finds, that I purchased at the show and had packed separately so I could get to them early. Expect more updates to come!

NOW POSTED: MORGANITES from Afghanistan!
(posted March 10, 2008)
Much of a pocket of classic hexagonal morganites with pink blush color, harder and harder to get out of Afghanistan these days at any reasonable price (and these are priced, I think, reasonably...since I bought the whole pocket "as is" with tons of prep work to do to get them out of the big rocks they were found in, and so I can pass on this "finder's finishing bonus").

MINIATURES AND RARITIES FROM OLD CLASSIC LOCALES!
(posted March 3, 2008)
50 specimens, all from old classic localities worldwide: mostly from various Museum collections including deaccessions from the American Museum of Natural History's Clarence Bement collection.

QUARTZ!!
(posted Feb 26, 2008)
Superb specimens of Arkansas Quartz from the private stash of one of the mine owners! These represent, to my eye, one of the best lots of Arkansas quartz specimens I have seen in one place in a long time. Also here (for lack of a better place to put them) are two LARGE specimens of Amethyst from Bolivia.

NEW FIND - BRAZILIANITE!
(posted Feb 26, 2008)
I was shocked when a source shipped up 10 pieces of the choicest Brazilianite speciments as an overall lot, that I have yet seen from the last 4-5 years of mining here. Each piece is superb, and way better than the average material that has made it out to date. I am told this was the product of hoarding the best pieces from many different pockets over the last few years!

HAUCK QUARTZ COLLECTION! - preTucson update for web customers!
(3 new pages posted Feb 2, 2008)
Quartz from the collection of Richard Hauck. Most have old labels or are clearly historic pieces!

HAUCK COPPER COLLECTION! (fall , 2007)

selections from the HAUCK historic locality COLLECTION! (spring , 2007)

MEXICAN AZURITE - new find!
(posted Jan 9, 2008)
I have closely been following a new azurite locality in Sonora since the Denver show, which has produced mind-numbing azurite that at its best rivals and in some ways (such as price) is better than the best of Tsumeb!

TSUMEB COLLECTION!
(1-7-08)
Last year, I purchased the private collection of long-time South African dealer Rob Smith, and have had no time to bring it to shows or post online, save for a few auctioned items. In partnership with dealer/collector Brian Kosnar, much of the core of that collection is now posted, at long last! This is a very diverse group of specimens, on 10 pages, representing over 30 years of collecting Tsumeb and Berg Aukas! These pieces range from miniatures to large cabinets and start at $50. There is a great mix of attractive display specimens from this most classic of localities

HAROLD URISH COLLECTION!
(12-14-07)
50 specimens posted from the collection of Harold Urish of Tucson, Arizona. This is a teaser of the more than 500 to come, for Tucson 2008, at our show locations

QUARTZ from the CHARLIE KEY COLLECTIONS
(12-5-07)
Quartz! Every single piece is unique and different! Offering the large Quartz Collection of Charlie Key.

NEW AMETHYST FROM HUNGARY!
(11-8-07)
Beautiful and unusual amethyst from a new locality (to me) in Hungary. These specimens have an intense lavender-purple hue and sparkle to them.

NEW FLUORITE FIND FROM "old" NAICA, MEXICO!
(11-7-07)
Specimens from Naica tapered off after the 1980's, and this is the first big new find of classic bevelled fluorites (some cuboctohedral or dodecahedral) from there I have seen in 15 years!

NEW SPECIMENS POSTED FROM A POCKET HIT IN OCTOBER!
I almost took these to Munich but instead left them home to give the web 1st dibs...

selections from the SAM NASSER THUMBNAIL COLLECTIONS

selections from the WENDELL WILSON THUMBNAIL COLLECTIONS

NEW FIND: PENNSYLVANIA WAVELLITE! 5-16-07

A new find in nearly its entirety, of unusual wavellite ...colorful new material for the East Coast!

CHARLIE KEY COLLECTION - NEWLY UPDATED! 4-26-07
NOW POSTED: 100-plus new Kalahari Fields Specimens: Hundreds of minerals will be eventually posted from this famous collection! We purchased, in partnership with collectors Marshall and Charlotte Sussman, the 6000-plus piece collection of African adventurer and mineral dealer Charles Key, after whom the minerals Ludlockite and Keyite are named.

NEW TUCSON SHOW FINDS - CHINA! 4-12-07

A teaser page of some of the new finds from China, with 2 dozen specimens including large examples of the new "fluorite turtles" which just came out!

selections from the MARTIN ZINN COLLECTION
REORGANIZED with MORE SPECIMENS POSTED!: (3-26-07)

NEW FINDS & CLASSICS from INDIA ! 3-26-07
Each year I start saving up Indian minerals cherrypicked from new finds of the previous summer onwards, add to the stash at Tucson bit by bit by choosing from the stock of several suppliers over the course of many visits, and then blow them out all at once as an update of new finds for the last 8 months or so. This 100-piece update includes among the traditional classic Indian material, new finds of striking RED STILBITE; and much of a novel pocket of new APOPHYLLITE that are generally upright, freestanding, and feature unusually stark, planar terminations. I bought well this year...most everything here is priced under $1500 with a few exceptions!

NEW FINDS- CHINA WULFENITE! 2-23-07

Presenting a wide selection (the largest, I would think...) of specimens from the best wulfenite yet found in China. Wulfenite seems rare there, for some reason. These specimens were found and hoarded over the last 3 years from a new locality in the remote northern areas of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and only recently were the best released for sale. I think I have the majority of the lot, and many of the better pieces, as noted in the recent Mineralogical Record, China II issue! Some specimens were hand-delivered to me before the show, which made the journal. These others are newly arrived and fresh to the market.

Click here to go to :
MINERALOGICAL RECORD ARTICLE ON THE NEW WULFENITE!
That takes you to the Record's website Contents page, where you should next click on
"Online Journal-Axis,". The Red Wulfenite article is listed there first.

NEW FINDS- CHINA RHODOCHROSITE! 2-23-07

This find has never been productive at the volume we would wish for, with just a trickle seemingly appearing to market at each show. I actually arranged to purchase this lot before Tucson, and did not see more than a handful of loose pieces of this style, from this mine, with other dealers there. Many excellent specimens priced $150-1000!

NEW FIND OF CRYSTALLINE VARISCITE FROM BRAZIL! POSTED 11-15-2006
A new find in Brazil of brilliant, ferrroan variscite crystals of a richness and quality seen only before at an old location in Australia!

NEW FIND: WORLD-CLASS AUGELITES from PERU! POSTED 9-26-06
Quite possibly the world's best of species, from an unlikely new locality for augelite!

NEW FIND! SPINEL-TWINNED COPPERS from NEW MEXICO POSTED 9-7-06
Copper specimens of novel habit for the mine, and the state! These are reminiscent of old Ray Mine material! I bought the wholefind...

selections from the DR. PETER BANCROFT COLLECTION

Pete Bancroft has been one of the leaders of the hobby through both his field collecting and show exhibitions, and perhaps even more through his publishing of several important books: Gem and Crystal Treasures, which showecased the 100 best mineral localities to date, accompanied by specimens and history; and The World's Finest Minerals, showcasing stellar specimens in museums and private collections at the time. (Both books are now sadly out of print and if anybody has copies, in particular of G&CT, I am a buyer - let me know!). From the 1950’s onward, he built one of the world’s finest mineralogical collections, the top portion of which sold to Dave Wilber for the most significant sum ever paid at the time for a mineral collection in modern times. He kept part of that collection, and then added more pieces over the next several decades as well, some of which you see below. For me, his Gem & Crystal Treasures will always be the most important book in the hobby in terms of influencing me as a collector (which I was for a LONG time before becoming a fulltime dealer). When I first read it in the mid-1980s, it knocked me over the head and taught me the difference between a "pretty good rock" and a "fine mineral specimen" with history, locality and ownership pedigree, and true aesthetic value. I am happy to have been able to purchase, through the transportation aid of Ed Swoboda, a portion of Pete's collection. It is true that he sold much of it in the 1970s, but he kept back a lot of specimens all these years, some of which are presented here and in fact come right out of his home office.

From the STEPHEN SMALE COLLECTION!
1) A selection of mixed specimens from the collection of Steve Smale, who exhibits and sells/trades at our Westward Look Hotel show in my little bloc of rooms. We had (too much?) time to start a few deals agoing, and I picked some choice specimens from his collection culls. I also have a large selection from his Chinese suite, available later on (Steve was situated in Hong Kong teaching mathematics when all the best early Chinese material came out...his "seconds" are everybody else's "firsts"). On that note, there is a new book out about Steve's "real life" career. He is way too modest to plug it, so I will: click here to go to Amazon.com

CHARLIE KEY DEALER STOCK Liquidation Auctions ! ended 8-26 at 7:30 PM
Help! We have too many minerals from the old dealer stock that came along with the Charlie Key Personal Collection...some of this is VERY NICE material, but I have other obligations and the cash has to move...We will try to add an extra set of auctions over ending on Tuesdays, about once a month.