MAT9- Aquamarine, Schorl, Muscovite
Nagar, Hunza Valley, Pakistan
11.0x 8.0x 5.5 cm

$2500

This is a very unusual aquamarine specimen for the locality.  There is a starburst of schorl crystals on a matrix of thousands of greenish muscovite clusters (only a small percentage of Pakistani aquamarines have this sort of matrix.)

At the center of the starburst are several dark blue aquamarines, all terminated.  This piece is much better in person, its three dimensionality makes it difficult to photograph. 

HEN3 Henmilite

Fuka Mine, Bitchu-cho, Okayama Prefacture, Honshu Island, Japan 

4.3x 3.8x 3.1 cm

$275

Here is a specimen from the best-of-species find made a few years back by a Japanese mineral club during a collecting trip to the Fuka Mine.  These henmilites were initially snapped up by collectors, and have since become scarce in any quality--meaning that even microcrystalline druses have started to command astronomical prices.  This scarcity has been compounded by the prohibition from collecting at the mine, in response to the wave of collectors who flocked there in search of more henmilite.

This is an exceptionally rich henmilite specimen, with clusters on two sides of the specimen (it is sort of difficult to show them both in the same image, but the image below gives some idea of their locations.)  The henmilite crystals reach 2.5 mm.

SINT1 Topaz

Gao Li Gongshan, Wenshan Yunnan Prov., China

5.8x 3.7x 4.2 cm

$375

Here is a very beautiful miniature specimen from the relatively new (and rather scarce) Chinese topaz find.  There is no damage, and the crystal is both gemmy and sharply terminated.  Pretty much all of the specimens that I have seen from this find are either large cabinets in the $6000+ range, or smaller, heavily damaged samples.  This piece is  completely undamaged, and one of the few high quality, though more affordable examples that I have seen. 

VLB1  Volborthite

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

4.5x 3.4x 0.6 cm

$75

A nice miniature of this rare vanadate, with numerous scale-like volborthite crystals on a (shale?) matrix.  This is not the dull powder that you may be used to seeing--these are actual crystals, and the specimen is actually quite aesthetic for volborthite.

AL12 Augelite

Machacamarca Mine, near Colavi, Potosi Dept., Bolivia

3.6x 1.3x 1.3 cm

$125

A very aesthetic thumbnail of the species, with three large rhombs perched atop a sliver of matrix, and surrounded by numerous smaller crystals.  

This is certainly the finest thumbnail I have seen from the locality.

MIX1 Arsenpolybasite, Prousitite, Acanthite, Manganocalcite

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

2.7x 2.2x 1.8 cm

$125

This specimen comes from a small find made in 2004, and that was mentioned in the "What's New in Minerals" section of the March-April 2004 issue of the Mineralogical Record.  It consists of three silver minerals: arsenpolybasite, acanthite, and prousite, all on a manganocalcite matrix.  If you look closely, you can see the clusters of hexagonal arsenpolybasites to the left, the proustite crystal on the right, and a jumble of micro acanthites separating the two.

All in all a spectacular thumbnail, and an example of three rare silver species.

PAQ1 Siderite

Panasqueira, Covilha, Castelo Branco, Portugal 

9.0x 3.8x 3.3 cm

A cabinet specimen of siderite from the classic Portuguese mines at Panasqueira.  The crystals reach 1.5 cm

PAR61 Pargasite

Near Aliabad, Hunza Valley, Hunza, Pakistan

4.4x 3.3x 3.8 cm

$100

A nice little miniature pargasite from the Hunza Valley.  This locality stopped producing shortly after the large earthquake that shook the region (though whether the two events are related I am not certain.)  When I visited Pakistan in 2006, I was only able to find a few low quality pieces.   I purchased this one way back in 2001, and recently rediscovered it in a mixed flat.

DP3 Pyrrhotite

Dal'Negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia.

5.3x 2.9x 2.4 cm

$65

A miniature pyrrhotite from Dal'Negorsk, with a single hexagonal crystal perched in a jackstraw cluster of included quartz crystals.  There are also a few small, flattened calcite crystals thrown itno the mix as well.

FRK2 Franckeite

San Jose Mine, Near Oruro City, Oruro Dept., Bolivia

2.5x 2.3x 2.1 cm

$35

A thumbnail of this rare sulfosalt, that for the past couple years has been more accessible to collectors thanks to production from this mine.

SID9 Siderite

Estanto Horco Mine, Colavi District, Potosi Dept., Bolivia

3.0x 2.6x 1.8 cm

$35

A damage free cluster of siderite "disks."  The disks are actually clusters of compressed rhombs, and if you look closely you can see the faint outlines of the individual rhombs.

VAAR1 Poldervaartite

N'Chwannaing II Mine, Kuruman, South Africa

2.8x 1.7x 1.4 cm

$60

A nice little poldervaartite "bowtie" from the Kalahari manganese fields.  This piece does not have the more desirable pink color (and the price reflects this) however its exceptional form and lack of damage makes it a desirable thumbnail all the same.  After the initial recovery of poldervaartites, miners were forbidden from removing additional specimens, and eventually the part of the mine where the poldervaartite was found was sealed with concrete.

MICA3  Phlogopite

Kokcha Valley, Badakhshan, Afghanistan

2.5x 2.3x 1.5 cm

$85

Here is a thumbnail of gem mica containing several gemmy phlogopite books.  This one comes from my thumbnail collection.

MON2 Monazite (floater twin)
Buenopolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil
2.2x1.4x 1.3 cm

$125
 

 A lustrous (for the species) floater twin of monazite form a 1970's stash of specimens that was brought to market in 2003.

SK4 Scapolite
Mpwapwa, Tanzania
2.4x 1.05x .75 cm

$65
 

 A gem golden scapolite from Tanzania.  There are some dings near the base (see image below, on the side of the crystal), however this is a good example of very difficult to obtain material.

MRH1 Rhodochrosite 
Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico
2.6x 1.7x 1.6 cm

$85
 

 A rhodochrosite thumbnail, from Mexico!  There is a gemmy pink scalenohedron on matrix, along with additional rhombohedral crystals, all bright pink.  A small specimen, but very beautiful, for Mexico or any other locality.  

I bought this at a rockshop in Texas some years back, and had it in my collection. 

DOL5 Dolomite
Eugui, Navarra, Spain
5.3x 3.6x 3.0 cm
$75

Dolomite is usually a matrix mineral, or something quarried simply to be crushed.  At Eugi however, dolomite occurs as specimens in their own right, and this is a fine example of the large, clear crystals that the locality is famous for.

ANA22 Anatase

Kharran, Baluchistan, Pakistan

4.0x 2.3x 1.6 cm.

$100

A nice anatase miniature from the find a couple years back.  This is one of the nicer miniatures from the lot. 

ANA23 Anatase

Kharran, Baluchistan, Pakistan

4.2x 3.3x 3.1 cm.

$100

Another miniature, this one with two lustrous anatase crystals, and several terminated quartzes as well.

SBAU1 Sarabauite
Sara Bau Mine, Bau, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia
2.5x 1.9x 0.7 cm
$35

Like most rarities, this one is just a splotch of color on matrix.  But it is a very rich thumbnail of a very rare splotch, and this is an infrequent opportunity for someone to add a sarabauite to their collection.  The matrix is wollastonite. 

VTS1 Vantasselite
Bihain, Luxembourg Prov., Belgium
3.5x 1.8x 1.8 cm
$38

Another rarity, from another country that is not really known for producing many mineral specimens.  This one is a vantasselite from the type locality, and it consists of a layer of radial crystals that have formed in a fissure.  Sort of pretty, in its own way.