MW24-32
Fluorite with Chalcopyrite and Baryte inclusions
Minerva No. 1 Mine, Ozark-Mahoning group, Cave-In-Rock Mining Sub-Dist., Hardin Co., Illinois, USA
Cabinet, 11.6 x 8.5 x 6.8 cm
Ex. Kurt Hefendehl
$7,500.00 Payment Plan Available
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One of the big surprises when we unpacked the worldwide collection of Kurt Hefendehl, who was based in Germany, was a small suite of choice, finely phantomed fluorites from Illinois that he bought in the 1980s-1990s heyday of this district, that is now closed. Here is a large, fine, complete-all around cabinet specimen with sharp crystals to 4 cm. It has no damage to the display face, and the crystals are razor sharp. In person, they have complex yellow and purple zoned phantoms, and it glows when even minimally backlit - but the photos do not convey this well. Also, the color balance will change depending on the light you use, its intensity, and angle - and we have used conservative photography here so that it really is better in person. Under fluorescent SW light, we see sharp demarcations of phantoms within, in white and cherry red lines, that seem to indicate the presence of petroleum (red) and possibly calcite or another mineral (white). For size, perfection, and the classic color contrasts, we rate this fairly high for the size range without having repairs or restorations, as do so many.