Amethyst ''cast'' after Anhydrite

Item Description

The quarry at Upper New Street dates back over 100 years ago (it opened in 1893). During the mid 1980's to early 1990's, there was a lot of collecting that took place between the Upper New Street and Lower Street Quarries in an area that is affectionately referred to by some as "Middle New Street". The majority of the specimens from this area are still labeled as being found at Upper New Street even though they were not found in the quarry itself. Nonetheless, this is one of the most famous Trap Rock quarries in New Jersey and is probably most famous for its amazing and unique casts (epimorphs). This specimen consists of sharp, gemmy, lustrous purple crystals of Amethyst measuring up to 1.3 cm covering the display side of this specimen. If you look at the edge of the piece you will see a beautiful textbook "cast" where the Amethyst have replaced prismatic, orthorhombic crystals of Anhydrite. This phenomenon is often seen in the New Jersey trap rock quarries, as we often seen minerals like Prehnite replacing Anhydrites, but it's not as common when it's Quartz after Anhydrite. These pieces are no longer coming out of the ground, so don't miss out on getting your hands on one for a great price. A great Trap Rock display specimen from this significant New Jersey locality. The piece comes with a hand-written label from the collection of Ernest W. Chapman.