Barite (RARE locality specimen) (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

The Colorado Fluorspar Company Mine near Creede, Colorado is the type locality for the mineral Creedite, but a few other minerals came out of this locality over the years, including some wonderful Barite specimens. These pieces are singular among Colorado Barites, as they do not resemble anything else from any locality in the state. This small cabinet specimen is filled with excellent, blocky, off-white colored, sharp, lustrous crystals measuring up to 2.1 cm with very minor matrix on the back. The crystals almost remind me of Orthoclase / Adularia / Moonstone as they almost have an "adularescence" internally when they're rotated in the light. There is even a bit of internal gemminess in areas! A totally different kind of Barite from a famous, historic mine in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. You'd be hard-pressed to find another like this in today's market, so if you're a fan of Barite or minerals of Colorado, don't pass this one up. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".