T1905 Rhodochrosite
Oppu mine, Nishimeya-mura, Naka-Tsugaru-gun, Aomori, Japan
6.0x 5.3x 1.8 cm
$395
A nice example of botryoidal rhodochrosite from the Oppu Mine, in Japan. This mine has operated intermittently since the 1600's, first as a source for silver, then later copper and finally lapidary rhodochrosite in the 1980's.
This is a great and very affordable example of this scarce material-- while I do not see them often, it seems that almost all of the pieces I do come across are somewhat large, with prices to match their size. At 6 cm this is probably harder to find than a cabinet sized piece, and again, how often do you see one of these at this price?
