Calcite (classic material - from 1899)

Item Description

This is a fine quality, old-time historic specimen of the iconic Calcites from the famous Stank Mine in Cumbria (Cumberland), England. These iconic and beloved specimens are regarded among the great classic Calcites from any world locality, and you'll find them in every museum collection around the world, and in private collections as well. They were mined well over 100 years ago, as the mined closed in 1901, and they are rarely seen on the market today. As a matter of fact, the catalogue entry for this specimen states that it came from the v. Janson collection in 1899. This wonderful cabinet sized specimens is filled with excellent, sharp, well-formed, translucent, colorless scalenohedral crystals measuring up to 1.4 cm, sitting atop the contrasting oxidized brown matrix. A few crystals have a bit of accenting red iron oxide (presumably Hematite) inclusions for a nice touch. Very little damage, most of the crystals are pristine, and pieces like this are highly sought after by Calcite collectors and experienced collectors who appreciate the old European classics. Valued at $2,000-$2,500 retail. From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#63 E), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the next two to three years through our various platforms.