Calcite (excellent old classic) (ex Miller Collection)

Item Description

A beautiful and showy antique miniature Calcite specimen from Matlock, Derbyshire, England. The piece comes with a beautiful old hand-written label from an unknown collection, along with what appears to possibly be a museum label along with a small collection label from Mary and Gardner Miller of Missoula, Montana. The Miller's label has a number of 1937, which I thought was possibly the year the piece was found, but the old hand-written label states that it was collected in 1896, so this piece is well over a century old. The main focus is the gorgeous, sharp, lustrous, gemmy, very pale golden colored, trigonal prism measuring 2.3 cm sitting proudly atop the massive white Calcite matrix. The crystal is in fantastic shape, with only a few superficial imperfections, which is more than forgivable considering the age of the specimen. The piece has such beautiful aesthetics with the single pronounced crystal flaring off the matrix. These specimens are incredibly difficult to obtain in today's market, and any serious mineral collector will tell you that the value and importance of old English Calcites is a highly regarded around the world. Priced in the inventory at $2,500 for quality, visceral beauty and the fact that it's a high quality antique from this well-known ore field.