Calcite (circa 1800) ex Sir Robert Ferguson Coll.

Item Description

An unusual and rare, old-time calcite specimen from Scotland. This specimen and about a dozen or so similar ones, with prismatic crystals having a triangular cross-section and unusual pinacoidal terminations, were dispersed by Rob Lavinsky in 1998 from a singel drawer of pieces recovered in the Ferguson family estate. This piece dates (according to the label) to the collection of Sir Robert Ferguson (1769-1840). He was a member of Parliament and the landed nobility from Fife, Scotland (he had stopped collecting by 1810). It is believed to have been collected by Ferguson, and that the Chapel Quarry was on the grounds of his estate (which is still there today). There are crinoid columnals in the limestone matrix. These are literally impossible to obtain today! valued $750-1000