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MRZ100 - Manganese Nodule - $250 SOLD deep-sea vent, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Atlantic Ocean small cabinet, 6.4 x 5.5 x 5.1 cm ex. Martin Zinn
Ugliest specimen first! This is a true deep-ocean nodule of nearly pure manganese spewed out by vents at the mid-Atlantic rift. It weighs shockingly little, 155 grams despite being the size of a tangerine. This was picked up on some deep-ocean exploration, I was told. Victor Yount had some for sale in the late 1980s, of which I assume this is one such piece.
MRZ101 - Coquimbite - $500 SOLD Calf mesa, San Rafael District , Emery Co., Utah small cabinet, 6.7 x 5.2 x 2.5 cm ex. Martin Zinn
Superb, sharp crystals to 1 cm, translucent, look like purple corundum. Instead they are this rare iron sulfate. This strange mineral is rarely found in specimens larger than a thumbnail or a crust with small crystals. Here is a small cab, with rich purple color (the lighting makes it look more even than in person, where I admit the color is more splotchy in appearance). Still, it is not unattractive and this is the best Utah specimen of the mineral I have seen for sale. Not stable in high humidity, I am told (this piece has clearly lasted many decades already, so it is not highly unstable, either). Marty's number on this was 1718 , indicating an early acquisition date.
MRZ102 - Herderite - $250 SOLD Linopolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil miniature, 6 x 4.6 x 1.2 cm ex. Martin Zinn
A VERY sharp, unusually bladed herderite crystal that is translucent around the edges and has a very sharp, narrowed, twin plane as you see in teh second photo. Interesting crystallography for the species, especially from this locale known more for short, fat herderites.
MRZ103 - Manganaxinite on Rhodonite - $125 SOLD Pachapaqui Mine, Bolognesi Province, Ancash Dept., Peru miniature, 4.8 x 3.6 x 2 cm ex. Martin Zinn
Rare, sharp crystals of the axinite group species manganaxinite to 4mm , perched on minutely crystallized rhodonite with quartz. Beautiful combination piece.
MRZ104 - Cornetite - $400 Shaba Province, Zaire miniature, 4.6 x 4.2 x 4.1 cm ex. Martin Zinn
A specimen with the most intense blue color I have yet seen in cornetite, composed of a velvety carpet of microcrystals that glistens in person; and is not flat in lustre at all as appears in the pics. This is an old specimen, and to me has a more intense blue color than modern material which has come from the same mine (the modern material is also sparkly , but a darker hue than we see on this specimen).
MRZ105 - Spangolite, Malachite - $200 Bingham, Socorro County, New Mexico miniature, 5.7 x 5.1 x 3.8 cm ex. Martin Zinn
Rich for the locality, this is a specimen of the very rare copper mineral spangolite. Extremely sharp, bright, deep blue crystals (to 1mm) of spangolite are in a protected crevasse in this matrix, with malachite (green spheres) in association.
MRZ106 - Honessite with Pyrite in Quartz Geode - $600 SOLD Hall's Gap Road Cut, Lincoln County, Kentucky miniature, 4.9 x 3.8 x 2.4 cm ex. Martin Zinn
This is a superb example of this rare nickel species, with brilliant hulk-green crystals to 1 cm in a protected cavity in a quartz geode. I believe this is the world's best locality for the species....at least, I have not seen good honessite from other places for sale. Honessite is MUCH more rare than the millerite found in geodes from this hard-to-collect locality (I know, i collected there as a kid!). The location is a roadcut along a major state highway, now completely off-limits to collectors.
MRZ110 - Millerite in Quartz Geode - $500 Hall's Gap Road Cut, Lincoln County, Kentucky miniature, 4.6 x 3.9 x 3.3 cm ex. Martin Zinn
This is a very rich example of millerite nestled within a protected cavity in a quartz geode. This is a hard-to-collect locality (I know, i collected there as a kid!), and geodes this full and this wel filled are just rare as can be. The location is a roadcut along a major state highway, now completely off-limits to collectors. This particular specimen has millerite poking out all sides, and is delicate to mail, so best sold for hand-delivery at some time as possible.
MRZ108 - Metacinnabar - $200 SOLD Mount Diablo Mine, Clayton, Contra Costa Co., California small cabinet, 6.5 x 3.6 x 1.5 cm ex. Martin Zinn
A rich miniature of sharp 1mm crystals on quartz matrix, of this rare mercury sulfide species (HgS). These were collected in teh 1960s. So far as I know, the locality has been defunct for decades and no more has been found. I see them about once a year, turning up in old collections. This is, so far as they go, a fairly aesthetic example
MRZ111 - Henmilite - $950 SOLD Fuka Mine, Bicchu Town, Kawakami Co., Okayama Pref., Japan (Type Locality) miniature, 4.5 x 2.7 x 2.3 cm ex. Martin Zinn
Henmilite is a beautiful copper borate species with vibrant purple color, and this find to me still remains one of the great discoveries of the past decade in terms of relevance to the collector of beautiful rarities. This is an oustanding specimen from a major find of about 4 years ago, at an old classic locality where this species had first been described. This find produced most of the best known specimens to date, and this is a great miniature representative of this quality. Crystals reach 4 mm here, but most are closer to 2mm.
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