We have all seen a lot of carrollites from the glory hole finds of around 2000-2002, and a few trickling out later. However, this piece for me has ALWAYS been one of my very favorites, since the day I first bought it from the Gobin brothers in Tucson before the show opened, in 2001. I sold it immediately to Ed David, in whose collection it remained until recently. There were larger crystals (then, not available now still). There were more exposed crystals. But there were very few crystals of such mesmerizing surface detail, and of this sharp octohedral habit, even amongst the whole breadth of the find. Of those few, this was the best in the size range available at the time and it remains one I always compare other examples of the species to. It is decidedly unusual, as most people consider a more complex crystal to be the sterotypic habit. Yet it is this unusual simplicity of the overall form, combined with subtle complexity on the faces and bevelled edges, that makes this unique and special even amongst the relatively few larger crystals. Moreover, very few specimens, probably only a few dozen in all, had this level of quality and were perched without repair in accenting calcite matrix. So, overall, I feel that this is one of those specimens that has the qualities of superb examples of its species; but enough individuality to also stand on its own merits as something so far off the normal spectrum as to be in its own category for desirability. I have hoarded it away since I bought the Ed David collection in 2006, and this is its first time presented for sale. Joe Budd photos