Calcite on etched Fluorite

Item Description

This is an attractive association specimen form this famous locality in Southern Illinois. This small cabinet sized specimen hosts modified, pale golden colored, gemmy, well-formed crystals of Calcite measuring up to 1.0 cm across, sitting atop light purple and yellow colored Fluorite, showing heavy etching on nearly all sides. The piece looks great when backlit, as the Fluorites has good internal translucency. This material has largely disappeared from the market, and these pieces will go down as some of the most beloved Fluorites from any US locality. The piece actually sits nicely on its own without the aid of a base or clay. Beautiful classic material from the 1970s-1980s era of mining.
From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".