Axinite-(Mn) (RARE USA locale) ex Sinkankas & Larson Coll.

Item Description

Axinite is RARE and highly desirable from the famed Little Three Mine of San Diego County. This sculptural and aesthetic miniature cutie is composed of three intergrown sharp, translucent brown blades, to 3.3 cm. You can only tell there is one clean repair from the back of the piece, which is certainly acceptable in the context of specimens from pegmatites. The Ramona District is for famous for gem-grade and specimen-grade topaz and spessartine, and has also produced fine tourmaline and smoky quartz specimens. This artistic piece dates to the Louis Spalding collecting era of the 1970s and 80s. See the 2002 Mineralogical Record article in Vol. 33, No. 5. Bill Larson noted that he bought this piece from John Sinkankas, prominent California author, artist, mineralogist, field collector, book collector, lapidarist and gemologist. Read more about John's stellar career at: https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/sinkankasjohn/. Ex Bill Larson San Diego County Pegmatite Collection and long on display at his Pala International shop in Fallbrook. A significant and RARE San Diego County specimen with an outstanding provenance. Value of the specimen alone should be $1000-ish but as a valid Sinkankas piece, the godfather of modern San Diego mineral collecting....more interesting, still. Incredible provenance for this.