Calcite (classic material)

Item Description

A delightful and highly sculptural display quality specimen of these iconic Calcites from the Southwest Mine in Bisbee. The piece has what I would best describe as an almost organic appearance, and it somewhat resembles some kind of plant life or coral, and it's about showy as any I can remember seeing. The central portion is open, creating a "donut"-esque shape with beautifully well-formed, complex/modified gemmy pale golden colored compressed crystals of rhombic Calcite measuring up to 4.2 cm across, sitting atop more translucent Calcite at the base with a slight greenish-blue hue due to copper content, whether is be in the form of a mineral like Malachite or Aurichalcite or possibly Brochantite. I can't find any damage of note, which is significant as these pieces usually have one or two cleaved crystals somewhere, but I don't see anything distracting on this one, it's a really choice piece and if you collect Calcites or minerals of Bisbee, you're not likely to find another with such superb form in a damage-free example, so don't miss out.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3650. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information