Excited to be spinning this show today. Always enjoy an etching as well. I’ve included a photo of that and the liner notes. And the poster from my first Furthur show for the throwback vibe (~);}
Another fun Fluorite added to my collection. This one came with an old locality tag, ex Gregory Crenko & ex Ken Doxsee collections. From a lesser known mine, the Gaskins Mine in Pope County (not Hardin County where some of the more famous Illinois Fluorite mines are). The specimen also hosts small golden chalcopyrite crystals for an added bonus. The phantoms are quite pleasing, they are sharp with distinctive violet color. Although the tag states light & dark purple, the cubes have some blue color that may not come through on camera as well. Nice intergrown cubes for a three-dimensional feel. Cool digital growth pattern on the underside/reverse as seen in the video. It’s a beautiful piece. The tag also has a very high retail valuation imo (I did not pay anywhere near that), I think it’s closer to a $500 piece than a 2k piece. Possibly valued highly by a previous collector for the rare locality. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Either way I am pleased to add a Gaskins Mine to my collection.
A beautiful, fully crystallized, etched fluorite with “Carthage corners”, which are the result of preferential dissolution. I have another piece with the quintessential “ice cream cone” look dissolution, but there’s just something about this piece that I really love. It’s a gem.
One of the first minerals I became interested 15+ years ago. Now rebuilding my collection in 2026 makes it hard to source such beautiful, colorful American fluorite pieces like this as they have become one of the hottest flavors of the modern time in the community, and there aren’t new production pieces coming out of this famous area anymore. Keeping this one in my long-term collection. Ex Roland Thomas collection.
From the same pocket as ‘The Alma King’ that is on display at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Came with an old Collector’s Edge label circa 1992. Instantly one of my favorite pieces in my collection. Fluorite crystals with etched cherry-red Rhodochrosite crystals with 'needle' quartz. Ex. Sam Koster Collection.
Fluorite with Phenakite. Mt. Antero, Chaffee Co., Colorado, USA 🇺🇸
Ex Lawrence Conklin, Ex John Callen collection
5.5 x 4.5 x 3.5 cm
The seller I got this specimen from either missed the fact or didn’t think to note that there are several gemmy, terminated Phenakite crystals scattered on this specimen, the old Lawrence Conklin label states Phenakite on Fluorite as well. The Fluorite itself is nice for the locality, the crystals are light purple translucent octahedrons. A great combo piece from this classic high elevation Colorado locality. Mt. Antero may be the highest elevation mineral-collecting locality in the contiguous 48 states, at over 13,000 feet! Just goes to show to always be thorough in your consideration and examination of specimens. I think there is a third mineral present as well. I personally believe that the Phenakite adds to the value of the piece.
NFS, now in my Colorado collection.
1 specimen. 7 old tags. Before I add my own 8th tag.
Rhodochrosite. Moose Mine, Central City Mining District, Gilpin County, Colorado, USA 🇺🇸
Ex. Sandra Gonzales Collection, Ex. William S. Logan Collection, Ex J. Cilen Collection.
7.7 x 3.8 x 2.4 cm
Fine specimen of well-crystallized pink Rhodochrosite showing a very atypical habit for the locality. Well-documented with numerous old labels including from the collection of noted rhodochrosite collector Dr. William Logan. Rare!
Most recent addition to my personal collection. A damage free fluorite cube with sphalerite and dolomite at the bottom. Translucent with sharp corners. Elmwood Mine, Carthage, Smith Co., Tennessee. 1.25 inch. 82.1 grams.
I’ve been collecting and selling for 15 years and you just don’t see enhydro crystals from Colorado pop up that often. I acquired an old collection recently that has a few of these. A couple are mobile bubbles, this one is mostly stationary. From Crystal Hill, La Garita, Saguache County, Colorado. I’m not sure what the white ball looking inclusions are.
This piece is out of the noted collection of Dietrich Mayer. I was told this piece was illustrated in a book that he put together.
I picked up three pieces of this material and a cut stone of it from a Polish dealer. They are from Morocco. But only this one had some matrix visible through the crystal, adding a peanut butter aspect to the jelly.