SM22-173
Ferberite with Fluorite
Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China
Cabinet, 12.3 x 7.9 x 4.0 cm
Ex. Dr. Ed David; Dr. Robert Lavinsky
$4,500.00 Payment Plan Available
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This is an old friend, one of the oldest Chinese minerals from my own personal mineral collection of Chinese-only specimens. It stands on its own merit, with sharp fluorite crystals of an old style from this mine, festooned upon a dramatic, spearpoint crystal of ferberite. More than that: I first saw it in the early days, when it had a place of honor as one of the finest examples of the species known in the 1990s, in the home of Dr. Ed David of New Jersey (Ed was President Nixon's science advisor in the White House, and later had many other roles in government, science, and at Nasa as well - always entertaining with stories!). When I started collecting Chinese minerals in about 2000, I traded it from him and kept it myself. Later, after I bought his large collection, he wanted it back and bought it back from me as part of a new collection (hence, it has two Ed David labels from two different collections of his). He was a passionate collector, and a good friend, and I could hardly say no, so we exchanged it back to him. Later, around 2010 or so, he sold me a large suite of the later collection as well, and I bought it back, and this time I kept it (until now). For a fascinating article on Ed and his amazing life: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/science/edward-david-dead-science-adviser-to-nixon.html.