Sold Specimens, Gallery O
Galleries of Sold Specimens:
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Agates Sold    Calcites Sold   Mont St-Hilaire Sold

click on image for larger view

OKN8-1  Okenite in Calcite  $35 - SOLD

Nasik, Maharashtra, India

4.2 cm x 3.6 cm x 2.6 cm

I have never seen any other mineral specimen like this one, and it always attracts attention whenever I show it – a ball of Okenite (CaSi₂O₅•2H₂O) about 1.5 cm in diameter completely encased in Calcite.  Admittedly, the Calcite is a cleavage section, but this is about the Okenite inclusion, not the Calcite, and you probably couldn't even see the Okenite if the Calcite were any larger.  On the back of the specimen you can see the bare Okenite where it was attached to matrix, and the uncovered portion fluoresces cream in SWUV.  This is one for the collector of included minerals or aficionados of the bizarre.

front                            click on images for larger view                            back

GEO10-14  Opal variety Yowah Nut in Ironstone  $28
ex Linda St-Cyr collection   SOLD

Yowah opal field, Paroo Shire, Queensland, Australia

2.5 cm x 2.2 cm x 1.3 cm

This barrel-shaped little stone looks like a miniature tree trunk.  The Opal (SiO₂·nH₂O) is the colorless material in between the "tree rings".  Under SWUV, the front shows a patch of cream-colored fluorescence and several seconds of phosphorescence.

click on any image for larger view 

MEN11-1  Opal variety Menilite  $28  SOLD

Pantano Camarillas, Agramón, Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain

5.0 cm x 3.1 cm x 1.9 cm

Opal variety Menilite (SiO₂·nH₂O) formed with imprints of fossil seashells, obtained from Josep Sanchez-LaFuente i Mariol.  (Menilite is sometimes called "Liver Opal", especially when it is a thick brown coating on a flat matrix, so it actually looks like liver.)  Pale yellow fluorescence under - surprisingly - LWUV.

click on any image for larger view 

MEN11-4  Opal variety Menilite  $27  SOLD

Pantano Camarillas, Agramón, Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain

4.9 cm x 3.2 cm x 2.0 cm

Opal variety Menilite (SiO₂·nH₂O) formed with imprints of fossil seashells, obtained from Josep Sanchez-LaFuente i Mariol.  The imprint on this one is so good that you can even see vertical ridges on the shell (click on center photo to see larger picture).  Pale yellow fluorescence under LWUV.

click on image for larger view

OSUM9-1  Osumilite  $28 SOLD

Funtanafigu Quarry, Marrubiu, Mt. Arci
Oristano Province, Sardinia, Italy

5 cm x 2.9 cm x 2.3 cm; largest crystal ~ 1.5 mm

Four tabular dark blue crystals that are mm-sized (and others that are smaller) of Osumilite (K,Na)(Fe²⁺,Mg)₂(Al,Fe³⁺)₃(Si,Al)₁₂O₃₀ from a rhyolite quarry that is a classic location for this species.  A cavity on the side contains colorless crystals that are probably Tridymite, and the bottom has some reddish crystals that are likely Cordierite. The Osumilite crystals have growth triangles on their faces that are partially visible to the naked eye, but are especially nice with a loupe or microscope.

Galleries of Sold Specimens:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XY Z

Agates Sold    Calcites Sold   Mont St-Hilaire Sold