click on images for larger views

CG11-1  Calcite, ex J. Höppner with label  $45  SOLD

Schaderschacht, Oberhohndorf, Zwickau, Saxony, Germany

9.5 cm x 4 cm x 1.3 cm

Two fully crystalized, translucent, compound crystals attached in a V-shape (the label calls them "clock hands" in German), from a coal-mining area that dates back to 1530.  There are some black inclusions and some reddish spots on the exterior.  The piece is mounted on a homemade, wood base.

click on images for larger views

CG11-2  Calcite, ex J. Höppner with label  $35  SOLD

Blaustein, near Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

8.5 cm x 4 cm x 3.4 cm

This type of Calcite, sometimes called "potato chip Calcite" is formed when portions of a solution solidify, and the solid pieces then drop to the bottom in a pile.  (I have a similar one from Florida.) The location is unusual as it is not recorded in MinDat.org, but I assume that it was collected by a local, and so is valid.  The back side (right-hand photo) is darker and a bit more orange than the front.

regular light                                click on images for larger views                                SWUV

GEO10-12  Calcite and Siderite Conglomerate Nodule   $38
ex Linda St-Cyr collection   SOLD

Nacimiento Mine, San Pablo, Sandoval Co., New Mexico

6.4 cm x 5.4 cm x 4.5 cm

This Calcite (CaCO₃) nodule is a concretion.  The brown Calcite/Siderite rind encompasses chunks "glued" together with white Calcite that fluoresces deep red under SWUV.

ordinary light                click on image for larger view                           SWUV

CAL9-14 Calcite  $145 SOLD

Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia

7.8 x 5.8 x 3.4 cm

This is the clearest Calcite I have ever owned.  The front and sides are perfect; the bottom has a cleave.  The Calcite grew as far as it could in the pocket.  It encountered the matrix, which resulted in the dark spots in the photo, and what looks like tan inclusions, but these are really multiply refracted images (look for the repeated shapes) of matrix residue.  When you hold the piece, it is these bits of matrix/contact that actually highlight the clarity of the specimen, for without them, it wouldn't be as apparent.

 

ordinary light                                 click on image for larger view                                 SWUV

CAL5-20 Calcite $28  SOLD

Iraí, Alto Uruguai region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

4 x 3.5 x 3 cm

A couple of cleaved tips on the edge crystals, but really great red fluorescence in SWUV, as only a good Calcite (CaCO₃) can do.

ordinary light                                 click on image for larger view                                 SWUV

CAL8-9 Calcite  $35 SOLD

Baltimore Tunnel, Lion Hill, Ophir, Tooele Co., Utah

5.6 x 3.6 x 3.7 cm

This is actually the tip of a large Calcite (CaCO₃) crystal and the photos show the bottom, a cross-section through the crystal that reveals many stages of growth.  Each growth stage has a different color under SW ultraviolet light (the photo on the right) - the outer layer fluoresces pale yellow while the inner layers are various shades of red.

ordinary light                                 click on image for larger view                                 SWUV

CAL9-15  Calcite  $28  SOLD

Irai, Alto Uruguai Region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

9 x 5.3 x 2.8 cm

This was apparently part of a geode since the matrix is just an ultra-thin Chlorite-covered crust.  The fluorescence is not as brilliant as some pieces - probably due to the heavy Chlorite inclusions - but it is still decent.  My favorite part of this piece is the doubly terminated crystal at upper left.

ordinary light                       click on image for larger view                      SWUV

Calcite-3  $85   SOLD

Iraí, Alto Uruguai region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

7 cm x 6 cm x 5 cm

The large crystal is incomplete on the bottom, but you don’t see that from the display side.  The crystal habit is like a stack of the “poker-chip” type.  The fluorescence is a super eye-catching red!

ordinary light                       click on image for larger view                      SWUV

CAL 5-50 Calcite  $65   SOLD

Iraí, Alto Uruguai region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

5.5 cm x 5 cm x 3 cm

The largest Calcite crystal has an unusual form, like the line drawing. The fluorescence is more orange than the others.

ordinary light                 click on image for larger view                 SWUV

CAL 5-59  Calcite  $68  SOLD

Iraí, Alto Uruguai region, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

8 cm x 4.8 cm x 3.6 cm

I think this Calcite crystal habit is the one called dogtooth, but it is more elaborate, with multiple overlapping crystals contributing to a beefy compound crystal. The fluorescence is more yellow-peach than the others, which is an unusual fluorescence color for Calcite.

click on image for larger view

CNZ10-3  Calcite  $32 SOLD

Golden Cross Mine, Waihi, Waikato, North Island, New Zealand

6.0 cm x 3.1 cm x 3.5 cm

Stacks of Calcite disks very reminiscent of Dal'negorsk-type material, but actually from a country we rarely see on mineral labels - New Zealand!  It is almost a floater, with the point of attachment being 1/2 the face that's to the left in the photo.  Very slightly fluorescent red-orange in SWUV.

click on image for larger view

CNZ10-2  Calcite  $24 SOLD

Clarence River, Inner Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

4.5 cm x 3.2 cm x 1.6 cm

Calcite rhombs from yet another New Zealand location, this time on the South Island.  It would make a nice addition for a Calcite specialist or a Countries-of-the-World sub-collection.  This specimen is fluorescent and phosphorescent yellow in SWUV, and also shows some yellow fluorescence in LWUV.

click on image for larger view

QCAL9-1  Calcite Cast with Quartz  $18 SOLD

Clarence River, Inner Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

5.2 cm x 4.1 cm x 3.5 cm

A very peculiar specimen formed as a Calcite cast with Quartz crystals filling the cavities left by the cast.

click on images for larger views

QCAL9-2  Calcite Cast with Quartz  $22  SOLD

Clarence River, Inner Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

5.0 cm x 3.7 cm x 3.5 cm

Another peculiar specimen formed as a Calcite cast with Quartz crystals filling the cavities left by the cast.  This one resembles the Quartz polyhedra that come from Brazil because the cavity is almost rectangular.

click on images for larger views                              image on right is 12 x 15 mm

CNZ10-1  Calcite with Quartz  $32  SOLD

Clarence River, Inner Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

4.5 cm x 4.2 cm x 3.0 cm

More Calcite rhombs - this time with a dark coating - from the same South Island, New Zealand location, in association with bright, 1-cm clusters of clear Quartz crystals.  The Calcite shows some yellow fluorescence in SWUV, but the coating appears to be interfering with some of the fluorescence.

click on image for larger view

CAL5-89  Calcite on Calcite  $155 SOLD

Cavnic Mine, Cavnic, Maramures Co., Romania

6.5 cm x 7 cm x 3.7 cm

Cavnic must surely rank high in a list of mines that produce the most varied Calcite habits in the world, and Calcite does have the most variety of forms of all minerals.  There were 450 photos of Calcite from Cavnic on mindat.org as of 9/15/08.  Yet I only found one photo resembling this one, and the green balls were on Rhodochrosite, not Calcite.  So this does appear to be a rather rare find.  In addition, it attracts a lot of attention on display, unlike most rarities.  The balls resemble round rosettes and the matrix looks like a mass of coalesced crystals.

click on image for larger view

CWS9-1  Calcite "Wheat Sheaves" on Calcite  $65  SOLD

Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Far-Eastern Region, Russia

8.3 cm x 4.1 cm x 3 cm

This strange Calcite (CaCO₃) specimen is extremely interesting and different.  The matrix is a stack of white scalenohedra, possibly covering a center Calcite crystal, because it has a triangular cross-section.  Then topping some of the stacks are the "Wheat Sheaves" shown in detail in the photo on the right, complete with center bands.   The white Calcites and the center band on the wheat sheaves go red under SWUV.

click on image for larger view

CONF6-1  Calcite on 3 Generations of Fluorite  $225 SOLD

Xianghualing Mine, Linwu Co., Hunan, China

8 cm x 5.2 cm x 5.5 cm

The first generation of Fluorite (CaF₂) is the layer of gray octahedra on the bottom.  The second layer consists of bright green octahedra, and the third generation is a very light green (almost colorless) layer of highly modified cubes visible at top center of the photo.  Finally, a handful of colorless, lens-shaped (poker-chip) Calcites (CaCO₃) are sprinkled over the top.  A lot of mineralogy is captured in this specimen, which is sort of a 3-D, time-lapse photograph of geologic processes, from a one-time find 6 to 7 years back.  Most of the specimens from that find had two generations of Fluorite, only occasionally with the Calcites; extremely few had three generations plus Calcite.  The Calcites fluoresce red under SWUV and the Fluorite fluoresces purple under LWUV.

 click on images for larger view

MLC5-14  Calcite variety "Melicaria"  $20  SOLD

Julimes, Mun. de Julimes, Chihuahua, Mexico

3 x 2.8 x 2.7 cm

Dr. Rob Lavinsky and MinDat to the rescue again!  I thought these "Melicaria" were quartz, but former Smithsonian curator John S. White had one labeled as Calcite, so I did the acid test and yes, it is Calcite.   Benny Fenn brought them in from Mexico and said that they form in cracks inside mudballs, similarly to the way septarian nodules (like the polished ones that end up as bookends) form.  The Melicaria have weak, dull orange-red fluorescence under SWUV and even weaker under LWUV.

FOV ~ 2 x 1.7 cm               click on images for larger views               FOV ~ 1.5 x 1.3 cm

CC11-03  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $18  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

5.4 cm x 4.0 cm x 2.8 cm

The lower images show two sides of the same crystal. On the left, the Pyrite and Marcasite are inclusions; on the right, they are exterior to the crystal.  Notice the transverse growth lines down the center of the crystal in the lower left photo.

click on images for larger views

CC11-02  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $24  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

6.3 cm x 5.3 cm x 5.1 cm

A double phantom, shown in the right-hand photo, with transverse growth lines in two stripes down the center of the crystal.

click on images for larger views

CC11-01  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $20  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

7.2 cm x 5.7 cm x 4 cm

Notice the sharp phantom in the lower left photo, and the transverse growth striations on the crystal surface in the lower right photo.

FOV ~ 1.7 x 1.3 cm               click on images for larger views               FOV ~ 2 x 1.5 cm

CC11-04  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $17  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

5.5 cm x 4.4 cm x 4 cm

The Pyrite and Marcasite is outside the double-terminated crystal at lower left, but inside the crystal at lower right.

  
                                            click on images for larger views               FOV ~ 1.3 x 0.8 cm

CC11-05  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $15  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

4.6 cm x 2.8 cm x 2.0 cm

The Calcite crystal on the right has transverse growth lines in two stripes down the center of the crystal, and a very nice phantom.

                                            click on images for larger views               FOV ~ 2 x 1.8 cm

CC11-06  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $22  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

5.3 cm x 5.1 cm x 2 cm

The Calcite crystal on the right has a narrow strip of transverse growth lines down the center of the crystal, and a very nice phantom.

                                            click on images for larger views               FOV ~ 1.5 x 1.5 cm

CC11-07  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $17  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

4.5 cm x 4.3 cm x 4.0 cm

The Calcite crystal on the right has transverse growth lines in two stripes down the center of the crystal, and a very nice phantom.

                                            click on images for larger views               FOV ~ 2 x 1.6 cm

CC11-08  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $25  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

5.6 cm x 5 cm x 4.5 cm

The Calcite crystal on the right has transverse growth lines in two stripes down the center of the crystal, and a very nice phantom.

       
click on images for larger views                                   FOV ~ 1.5 x 1.1 cm

CC11-10  Calcite with Pyrite and Marcasite  $15  SOLD

Conco Mine, North Aurora, Kane Co., Illinois

4.5 cm x 3.1 cm x 3 cm

The Calcite crystal on the right has transverse growth lines down the center of the crystal, and a very nice phantom.