Mixed Minerals!
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DDM01 Silver
Calumet Hecla Mine, Calumet, Calumet Township, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA
8.0x 6.0x 6.5 cm
$4300
A hand sized specimen of silver, with a vaguely arborescent form, though much thicker and heftier than the usual. There are several crude crystals visible on the piece. It was collected sometime between 1870 and 1890, and obtained from the descendant of a miner.
DDM03 Rhodochrosite
Moanda Mine, Haut-Ogooue Province, Gabon
5.2x 2.8x 1.2 cm
$375
A nice and somewhat difficult to find example of rhodochrosite from Gabon. These rhodochrosites were found in the 70's and early 80's, and easily distinguished from other localities by their narrow, rice-like crystals.
There is some peripheral damage as might be expected, but over all in good condition.
DDM03A Plumbogummite ps. Pyromorphite
Daoping-Yangshuo Orebody, Guilin Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang A.R., China
4.7x 4.4x 2.7 cm
$1350
A very beautiful miniature from this find-- it has the top color, and an excellent overall form. I obtained quite a few of these, but the radiating form and lack of damage really made this one stand out. if you want a top miniature example of this material, this might be a good contender.
DDM04 Pyrite with Belemnite (fossil)
Unknown River, North Caucasus, Russia
5.5x 1.7x 1.8 cm
$275
A very unusual and playful little specimen, half mineral and half fossil. I only saw three of these, the largest (but only by a bit) was repaired, this was the second. It reminds me of a fishing bob.
DDM06 Plumbogummite ps. Pyromorphite
Daoping-Yangshuo Orebody, Guilin Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang A.R., China
4.3x 3.8x 2.3 cm
$565
A beautiful specimen of plumbogummite pseudomorphing pyromorphite, displaying the top blue color from the find. On the reverse, some green pyromorphite can still be seen, and this provides a nice contrast. There are a couple sheared crystals, but the piece is exactly as shown.
DDM07 Calcite
Jalgaon Area, Maharashtra State, India
8.3x 6.5x 4.0 cm
$325
A pair of very transparent and beautifully positioned calcite twins on a quartz matrix, from the Deccan basalt traps. One of the the crystals has a small chip, but overall the piece is exactly as shown.
DDM08 Plumbogummite ps. Pyromorphite
Daoping-Yangshuo Orebody, Guilin Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang A.R., China
4.0x 2.3x 1.8 cm
$375
A nice specimen from this find, consisting of a reasonably large, hoppered pyromorphite crystal that has partially pseudomorphed to plumbogummite.
DDM09 Betafite
Silver Crater Mine, Bancroft, Ontario, Canada
5.0x 4.3x 3.0 cm
$385
A very hard to find example of betafite on matrix. There are two main specimen producing localities for this mineral-- the Silver Crater Mine, and the area around Betafo, Madagascar. Those form Madagascar *never* occur on matrix, and those from Canada somehow tend to come off their calcite matrixes rather easily. That's probably why most of them are just loose thumbnails.
Whatever this case, this is a very cool example, and the crystal is quite sharp and lustrous too.
DDM10 Autunite
Los Oudots, Issy L'Eugue, Saone et Loire, France
9.1x 8.5x 3.7 cm
$485
A large cabinet sized specimen of bright, blady autunite. This is an older piece-- it has an accompanying collector label stating that it was purchased at a Mineralogical Record auction in 1982-- though my guess is that the piece is at least a couple decades older still.
DDM11 Silver Nugget
Calumet & Hecla Mine, Calumet, Calumet Township, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA
7.8x 4.0x 2.7 cm
$425
A rare example of a silver nugget from Michigan, collected sometime between 1870 and 1890, and obtained from the descendant of a miner. At the time these things would have been fairly common, considering the millions of ounces of silver produced in the Upper Peninsula, though as most were processed, these are quite hard to find today.
DDM12 Silver Nugget
Calumet & Hecla Mine, Calumet, Calumet Township, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA
6.7x 3.6x 1.4 cm
$395
A rare example of a silver nugget from Michigan, collected sometime between 1870 and 1890, and obtained from the descendant of a miner. At the time these things would have been fairly common, considering the millions of ounces of silver produced in the Upper Peninsula, though as most were processed, these are quite hard to find today. Looks a bit like a kneeling camel, if you hard enough...
DDM13 Scoleite with Chalecdony
Chandanapuri, Ahmadnagar Dist., Maharashtra State, India
6.0x 2.5x 2.6 cm
$195
A nice example of this unusual dark orange scolecite with chalcedony, from a find made 4-5 years ago.
DDM15 Cuprite
Mashamba West Mine, Shaba Province, Congo
8.4x 5.8x 4.1 cm
$435
A specimen of cuprite, hosting two octahedral crystals in a vug from ~20+ year old finds in Congo.
DDM18 Pyrochlore
Vishnevye Mts, Chelyabinsk Oblast', Southern Urals, Urals Region, Russia
5.8x 4.2x 3.1 cm
$10
A rich specimen of octahedral pyrochlore crystals on matrix, from Russia.
DDM19 Fluorite
De'An Mine, Jiangxi Prov., China
10.4x 9.2x 3.5 cm
$200
A small cabinet sized plate of fluorite on quartz, with the individual fluorite crystals unusually (and rather nicely) spaced out-- they are usually somewhat tightly packed. These were first found several years ago, and production has continued intermittently since then.
DDM21 Copper
Central Mine, Keweenaw Co., Michigan, USA
4.3x 3.5x 2.7 cm
$365
A well crystallized copper specimen from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This one has an excellent patina, and can be displayed from a couple different angles.
DDM22 Copper
Central Mine, Keweenaw Co., Michigan, USA
3.7x 3.7x 3.0 cm
$385
A well crystallized copper from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with an excellent patina.
DDM23 Spinel
Mogok Township, Myanmar (Burma)
4.0x 3.2x 1.6 cm
$165
A bright reddish-pink spinel on a nicely contrasing matrix, from Burma.
DDM24 Tetrahedrite
Cavnic, Maramures Co., Romania
7.3x 6.3x 3.4 cm
$165
An old sample of tetrahedrite on quartz from Romania-- in the 80's and 90's these mines were as prolific as the Peruvian ones today, but over the last decade most have been closed. Tetrahedrite was never especially common from the area, but this is a pretty good example. Today, most of the pieces you are likely to find are from Peru.
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DDM25 Hubnerite with Fluorite
Pasto Bueno, Pallasca Prov., Ancash Dept., Peru
9.1x 2.6x 2.2 cm
$485
An old spray of hubnerite, with a rare fluorite association. There is damage, both to some terminations in the spray as well as to the fluorite. The piece is exactly as shown, however. This piece dates to the 1980's.
DDM26 Fluorite
Auglaize Quarry, Junction, Paulding Co., Ohio, United States
3.7x 2.9x 2.1 cm
$185
A pair of cubic fluorite crystals showing very clear phantoms, on a bit of matrix. As with virtually all of these, the backs were the point of contact with the sedimentary matrix. These were obtained from the field collector who unearthed them, and date to around 10 years ago.
DDM27 Fluorite
Auglaize Quarry, Junction, Paulding Co., Ohio, United States
2.8x 1.7x 1.5 cm
$260
A thumbnail sized pair of sharp cubic fluorite crystals showing very clear phantoms. These were obtained from the field collector who unearthed them, and date to around 10 years ago. Excellent thumbnail sized example of this material.
DDM28 Fluorite
Auglaize Quarry, Junction, Paulding Co., Ohio, United States
2.0x 1.5x 1.5 cm
$125
A sharp cubic fluorite crystal, with a clear purple phantom. It measures 2.0 cm across the diagonal, and 1.5 cm on edge. This was obtained from the field collector who unearthed it, and dates to around 10 years ago.
DDM29 Barite
Glamis Dee Mine, Near Carlin, Elko Co., Nevada, United States
9.2x 7.1x 3.0 cm
$265
A specimen covered in gemmy yellow barite, from an unusual locality. Elko County barites are famous from the Meikle Mine, but this locality is less well known-- in fact Mindat only has a single sample pictured.
There is shearing on the bottom left, as shown in the picture
DDM30 Bournonite with Tetrahedrite
Pulacayo Mine, Huanchaca, Antonio Quijarro Prov., Potosi Dept., Bolivia
16.0x 7.8x 4.5 cm
$460
A large cabinet sized sample of bournonite from of of the less prolific Bolivian mines, as far as specimens as concerned. The deposit was discovered in 1833, and was finally abandoned in 1990.
This piece is composed almost entirely of sulfide material, and hosts numerous blocky bournonite crystals, displaying the classic cogwheel form. Most of the Bolivian bournonites offered for sale these days are from the Machacamarca Mine.
DDM31 Copper
Mountain City Mine, Mountain City District, Elko Co., Nevada
5.0x 4.7x 2.0 cm
$165
A nice sample of crystallized copper on matrix from a somewhat unusual locality-- it could easily pass as being from Michigan, except it is from Nevada.
DDM32 Tourmaline var. Elbaite
Mogok Township, Myanmar (Burma)
4.4x 2.7x 1.8 cm
$175
A nice example of tourmaline from Burma. With the exception of those "mushroom" shaped liddicoatites, these Burmese examples are somewhat scarce. This one has a deep reddish-pink color and dark cap. There is some chipping near the base, as shown. This came from a small pocket found over the summer.
DDM34 Epidote
Untersulzbach valley, Salzburg, Austria
6.4x 3.7x 1.4 cm
$365
A hefty epidote crystal from Austria-- not entirely perfetct, but quite sizable for the price.
DDM35 Palygorskite
Pend Oreille Mine, Boundary Dam, Metaline District, Pend Oreille Co., Washington, USA
35.0x 14.0x 2.5 cm
$165
It isn't often that I get to offer "world class" or "museum quality" examples of a given species.... of course, when I do, it's usually something odd like this (as opposed to a tourmaline...)
With that said, this is a very good specimen of "mountain leather" (not a used paper towel.) It is flexible, bendable, and I even had to lift a corner of it up to take the close-up photo of the calcite (you can see my fingers int he corner.) The piece is studded with tabular calcite crystals at various points, the largest reaching a couple cm.
Unusual, but very interesting....
