THE MINERAL SALE ROOMS!
UPDATED May 5th, 2011!
These new rooms are stocked with older
and or excess inventory.
The bargains and discounts are huge so please feel free to take advantage!
Your mineral collection will thank you.
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SALE! #277
Extraordinary, large hoppered crystal
of reddish-orange Vanadinite!
One of the more unique specimens I brought home from
the Tucson Show!
This hoppered crystal grew so quickly that it literally stretched out in length
as dozens of crystal faces and terminations formed along the central axis. The
two photos above show the front and back side, both of which are very lustrous.
From Mibladen, Midelt, Meknčs-Tafilalet Region, Morocco.
Measures 6.2 cm by 5.2 cm in size with 1 repair.
Ex. Matthew Webb Collection
Price $3850
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SALE! #279
Cute specimen featuring green Epidote
sprays atop and along the side of a Calcite crystal!
From the La Gringa Mine, Huallanca, Ancash Department, Peru.
Measures 4.1 cm by 3 cm in size.
Price $285
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Blue Azurite crystal spheres
with smaller green Malachite balls on matrix!
Superb combination plate from the Morenci Mine!
There must be a couple dozen of these
blue crystal spheres and the smaller Malachite balls really balance the overall
appearance.
From the Morenci Copper Mine, Morenci, Greenlee County,
Arizona.
Measures 6 cm by 14.6 cm by 5.8 cm in size.
Price $850
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Dogtooth Calcite crystals in
cluster with Malachite coated Chalcopyrite and Covellite!
Superb combination and the first Covellite
specimen I've seen from this locality! The Calcite
crystals are all perfectly terminated with a coating of small iridescent Covellite blades!
Some
of the Covellite blades have actually been overgrown by the Calcite and are now inclusions
inside the larger crystals, creating a dazzling affect. The Chalcopyrite crystals appear
to
have been coated by a thin layer of iridescent Bornite which was then covered by
Malachite.
All in all, this is a really neat Calcite specimen which I could look at for hours with a
loupe.
From Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China.
Measures 12.4 cm by 8 cm by 5 cm in size.
Price $650
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Fine hexagonal crystals of
yellowish-green Pyromorphite matrix!
Pretty specimen with lustrous faces and terminations
and no detectable damage to speak of,
only tiny spots of unimportant chatter. The largest center crystal measures 5 mm in
size!
From the Bastenberg Mine, Ramsbeck, Sauerland,
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland
Measures 4.9 cm by 5.5 cm in size.
Price $385
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SALE! #288 Sold!
Beautiful cluster of deep purple Quartz
var. Amethyst crystals!
From Mount Davidson, Comstock Lode, Storey County, Nevada.
Measures 8.5 cm by 7.8 cm in size.
Price $685
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SALE! #290
Deep red crystals of Realgar with Orpiment
perched atop a crystal of Sphalerite!
Very aesthetic specimen to say the least with complete and well terminated Realgar xls!
From the Palomo Mine, Julcani, Huancavelica Department, Peru.
Measures 4.4 cm by 4.1 cm in size.
Price $485
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SALE! #291 Sold!
Blue Fluorite cubes with lavender
accenting clustered between Barite blades!
From the Blanchard Mine, Bingham, Socorro County, New Mexico.
Measures 6 cm by 4.5 cm in size.
Price $385
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Photograph of the newly discovered Kebira Crater in the Sahara Desert. It measures 30 kilometers in diameter!
SALE! #294 Sold!
Prehistoric Meteoritic Impact Glass!
The story behind this glass is amazing. When some of
the pharaoh tombs were discovered in Egypt,
archeologists discovered small figurines carved from a yellowish-green glass. The
Egyptians had
apparently found this glass scattered about in the desert to their west and used the
translucent glass
fragments for their sculptures and small carvings. It was a highly prized
"gemstone" and important
enough to be included in the tombs of their rulers. Jump forward to the 20th century when
in 1932,
scientists exploring the Sahara Desert stumbled across a find of green glass while
searching for
undiscovered ruins. They had accidently rediscovered the source of the Egyptian green
glass.
The glass was tested and found to be impact glass from a prehistoric asteroid impact in
the desert.
The impact was so violent that the desert sandstone was instantly heated and melted into
glass
which was then tossed far and wide from the crater. No crater was evident however until
satellite
images showed a huge impact zone which had been covered by centuries of sand drift and
water
erosion by ancient rivers. See
story. This impact glass is unique in that it is green and lustrous
unlike tektites which are generally dark. It has been scientifically dated by
fission-track methods
to 28.5 million years old and probably occurred at some 2800 degrees melting temperature!
Evidence has also been found indicating that prehistoric man made use of the glass in the
form
of spear tips and various tools. The glass is extraordinarily beautiful material and
displays
the small, thumb-like impressions (regmaglypts) which are common to meteorites. It is also
some of the purest natural silica glass ever discovered and much purer than tektite glass.
The glass frequently comes with small internal bubbles that include various elements. One
of
those elements is Iridium, the presence of which is indictative of an extra-terrestrial
origin.
Recently, the Egyptian government has prohibited the removal of the green impact glass
which has made the material very rare and difficult to obtain. I offer here four of the
finest
gem specimens I purchased as part of a small collection of meteorites while in Tucson.
From the Sahara Desert near the Libyan-Egyptian border.
Age estimated at 28.5 million years old.
Most likely from the recently discovered Kebira Crator.
Measures 6.7 cm by 4 cm by 3.2 cm in size and weighs 79.4 grams.
Price $985
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