Calcite (2 generations) (rare locality)

Item Description

A rarely seen Calcite specimen from the Wentworth Field in Newton County, Missouri featuring two generations of growth with a beautiful golden and colorless "phantom" scalenohedron in the center, that is studded by many sharp, well-formed, compressed trigonal crystals of a very pale golden hue, creating an almost "pagoda"-like effect. No damage I can find, save the back of the piece which is cleaved, but you can't see it from the display side. With good backlighting, the piece really glows and you can see the original "phantom" crystal more clearly. Specimens from this locality are virtually unseen on the market, so if you collect Calcites or Tri-State material, don't miss out.
This piece comes from the personal collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman, the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. Dave is now retired from mining, but he worked for decades in various mines underground in Colorado, as a miner, mechanic, engineer, shift boss and foreman. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the foreman and the primary person in charge of mining and specimen recovery at the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado in the 1970s alongside his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar. This project what was the FIRST ever operation for specimen recovery at this historic locality. A full-page photograph of Dave can be seen mining underground at the Sweet Home in on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".