Mineral Specimens from Tucson Show 2009 For Sale. Gem and Mineral Show

Minerals from Tucson

TZ01 Euclase

Piaotang Mine, Xihashan Intrusion, Jiangxi Prov., China

4.1x 2.5x 1.9 cm

Largest Crystal: 2.2 cm

$700

In 2007, there was a small find of euclase in China. Less than 100 good specimens were produced, and virtually all that made it to the international shows were instantly snapped up.

I got to the Tucson show early this year, and found a small number of specimens in the room of a Chinese dealer. I selected three of the best he had, and am offering them on this page.

This piece is a cluster of large, terminated, and reasonably gemmy crystals showing excellent form and bright faces. There is one small chip on the back of the main crystal, as visible in the photographs. I did not see any other dealers with this material at the show, so this is undoubtedly one of the best pieces at Tucson this year, with exceptionally large crystals!

TZ02 Euclase

Piaotang Mine, Xihashan Intrusion, Jiangxi Prov., China

3.6x 2.5x 2.7 cm

Largest Crystal: 3.2 cm

$600

In 2007, there was a small find of Euclase made in China. Less than 100 good specimens were produced, and virtually all that made it to the international shows were instantly snapped up.

I got to the Tucson show early this year, and found a small number of specimens in the room of a Chinese dealer. I selected three of the best he had, and am offering them on this page.

This piece is a cluster of large, terminated, and reasonably gemmy crystals showing excellent form and bright faces. I did not see any other dealers with this material at the show, so this is undoubtedly one of the better pieces at Tucson this year. This cluster is a complete FLOATER! There is no damage, contact or visibly point of attachment anywhere on this specimen, and the crystals are exceptionally large.

IMG_0067.JPG (57297 bytes)

TZ03 Euclase

Piaotang Mine, Xihashan Intrusion, Jiangxi Prov., China

3.4x 2.5x 1.5 cm

$135

In 2007, there was a small find of Euclase made in China. Less than 100 good specimens were produced, and virtually all that made it to the international shows were instantly snapped up.

This is a nice toenail specimen, with multiple Euclase crystals on matrix. The main crystal is terminated, though has a ding on the top. as visible in the photographs. Still, this remains a very good specimen from the find.

TZ04 Scheelite on Quartz Tamboras, Mundo Nuevo La Libertad Dept., Peru, South America 3.4x 3.4x 2.9 cm $300 Here is a specimen of scheelite from one of the new finds in Tucson this year. Only two dealers had these scheelites, and one of those dealers was asking higher prices than what I have posted here. This specimen has two complete scheelite octahedrons on a cluster of quartz crystals. It is an exceptional miniature from the find, which is has provided a new locality for the species.

TZ05 Tarbuttite

Skorpion Mine, Rosh Pinah, Luderitz District, Karas Region, Namibia

5.0x 4.0x 2.3 cm

$180

Here is a specimen of tarbuttite coated with hydrozincite, from a recent Namibian find. Tarbuttite is only known to occur at about 5 localities worldwide.

TZ06 Smithsonite

Skorpion Mine, Rosh Pinah, Luderitz District, Karas Region, Namibia

6.5x 4.6x 3.1 cm

$180

Along with the (relatively) more plentiful tarbuttites from the Skorpion mine, a very small number of smithsonite specimens were also recovered. This is the best example that I was able to find.

All in all, this is an opportunity to get a good smithsonite, from an unusual locality.

TZ08 Painite

Ongaing, Near Mogok, Burma

1.8x 0.9x 0.9 cm

$200

Up until about three years ago, painite was considered to be the rarest gemstone in the world, with only a handful of specimens known.

Today the species remains very rare, but thanks to a new find, is now available to collectors. This piece was sent to me directly from Thailand, and is a somewhat larger-than-average crystal. The piece has very good faces, and it gives a good idea of the crystal shape. There is even a worn termination.

TZ09 Native Tellurium

Mina Bambolla, Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico

4.8x 2.8x 2.1 cm

$200

A rich specimen of native tellurium, hosting a gray vein of the native element running through matrix.

TZ10 Volborthite

Monument #2 Mine, Monument Valley, Apache Co., Arizona

6.2x 3.5x 2.6 cm

$85

A rich and beautiful specimen of volborthite from the "Four Corners" region of the United States. The crystals from this locality are some of the largest for the species, and the contrasting matrixes found at this site make these volborthites some of the most aesthetic in the world. That's saying quite a bit, given that this is usually an "ugly" mineral.

TZ11 Turquoise ps. Apatite

Narcozari, Sonora, Mexico

4.9x 2.1x 2.2 cm

$150

An unusual pseudomorph of turquoise after apatite. Although rounded, you can still see the hexagonal form and termination of the apatite. This is very unusual material, and this crystal is much larger than the few others I have seen.

TZ12 Chrysocolla

Arizona, United States

7.1x 5.1x 4.0 cm

$88

Not rare, but very beautiful. This piece has is rich and covered with bright chrysocolla. It really stands out--even among more costly or rare specimens.

TZ13 Xenotime

Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil

3.5x 1.9x 0.8 cm

$165

A spectacular thumbnail consisting of two terminated xenotime crystals that have grown parallel to each other. The majority of specimens are either single crystals, or messier clusters. Specimens like this one are few, and far between.

TZ14 Xenotime

Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil

2.4x 0.7x 0.5 cm

$75

A highly desirable cluster of terminated xenotime crystals from Brazil.

TZ15 Xenotime

Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil

2.4x 0.8x 0.6 cm

$65

A highly desirable cluster of terminated xenotime crystals from Brazil.

TZ16 Xenotime

Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil

2.4x 0.9x 0.6 cm

$60

A terminated, and highly desired crystal of xenotime from Brazil.

TZ17 Monazite

Buenopolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil

2.4x 1.7x 1.3 cm

$95

A twinned cluster of lustrous monazite crystals from a find made a few years back.

TZ18 Monazite

Buenopolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil

2.9x 2.3x 1.3 cm

$90

A twinned cluster of lustrous monazite crystals from a find made a few years back.

TZ19 Pearceite

Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon Prov., Lima Dept., Peru

3.6x 2.0x 1.1

$235

A spectacular miniature specimen, exceptionally rich with rare pearceite crystals to 1.2 cm.

The little red dot in the photographs is actually a small proustite. You can tell from its bright color that this specimen has not been out of the ground for very long-- proustite tends to darken with continued exposure to sunlight.

TZ20 Acanthite

Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon Prov., Lima Dept., Peru

4.1x 3.6x 2.4 cm

$145

A beautiful miniature specimen, with an arborescent cluster of acanthite crystals aesthetically clinging to a think scrap of matrix.

TZ21 Acanthite

Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon Prov., Lima Dept., Peru

2.6x 3.25x 1.6

$135

A cluster of large acanthite crystals, forming a beautiful and very three dimensional thumbnail specimen of this rare silver mineral.

TZ22 Acanthite

Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon Prov., Lima Dept., Peru

3.0x 2.7x 1.6

$68

A cluster of acanthite crystals on matrix.

TZ23 Pyromorphite,

Kintore Open Cut, Block 14, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

3.8x 1.1x 0.8 cm

$100

A cluster of terminated pyromorphites from Broken hill. The crystals are very large for the locality, and the find was mentioned in the May-June 1993 issue of the Mineralogical record.

TZ24 Zeunerite,

Grandview Mine, Horseshoe Mesa, Grand Canyon, Arizona

5.8x 3.5x 3.0 cm

$85

While in Tucson I found two dealers who had small quantities of zeunerite. Zeunerite is a scarce uranium mineral, and usually does not come up for sale as anything larger than a micromount. This particular specimen has multiple platy crystals on matrix, the largest measuring 0.6 cm on edge.

TZ25 Zeunerite,

Grandview Mine, Horseshoe Mesa, Grand Canyon, Arizona

4.0x 3.5x 3.3 cm

$78

Zeunerite is a scarce uranium mineral, and usually does not come up for sale as anything larger than a micromount. This particular specimen has multiple platy crystals on matrix.

TZ26 Zeunerite,

Grandview Mine, Horseshoe Mesa, Grand Canyon, Arizona

3.8x 3.7x 2.0 cm

$68

TZ27 Karpatite,

Los Picachos, San Benito County, California United States

5.1x 4.0x 2.1 cm

$145

An interesting specimen of this rare organic from a locality very near the Benitoite mine. The chemical formula for this mineral is C₂₄H₁₂_,it is basically a crystalline hydrocarbon known only from a few localities world wide. This particular specimen is exceptionally rich.

Click Here to See the new Clearance Page!