Calcite (large crystallized plate) (ex Gary Weaver Collection)

Item Description

The famous Idarado Mine in Colorado was named from the combination of the Idaho based Sunshine Mining Company and Newmont Mining in Colorado (IDA-ho + coloRADO = IDARADO). This locality for many years was one of the great ore producers in all of the Colorado and the entire United States for that matter. This mine was reopened in the 1940s and was a major source of base metals that were meant to help with the war effort during WWII. Along with the excellent specimens of sulfides and Quartz, the Idarado Mine was the source of some impressive Calcite specimens. Here we have a wonderful large cabinet display piece is loaded with multi-crystallized groups of golden to creamy white colored scalenohedral of Calcite measuring up to 3.5 cm long free of matrix. I love the multi-stepped / "built"-up growths on every Calcite, giving the piece such robust depth and character. The reverse side of the piece shows a small amount Quartz in layers or "bands", but it's not what I would consider matrix. VERY little damage, save the periphery where the piece was removed from the pocket wall. These specimens are very hard to find on the market today, as the mine has been closed for over 40 years. If you collect Calcite, Colorado minerals or just love big showy large cabinets, don't miss out on this one. Priced in the inventory at $2,500. From the collection of Gary Weaver (1944-2019), an electrical engineer who worked for Hughes Aircraft in California. After retiring to Prescott, Arizona in the early 2000s, Gary rekindled his childhood love of minerals, amassing a collection of roughly 2000 specimens, focusing on localities in which he and his wife had lived or visited (Mexico, Peru and the western / southwestern United States). You can read Gary's obituary here https://www.dcourier.com/news/2019/apr/27/obituary-gary-richard-weaver/