Calcite (RARE) Robertson Coll.

Item Description

RARE and striking two generation stalactitic calcite cave helectites from an unknown nearby limestone outcrop or from the baryte producing Silverband Mine. This surreal looking 360-degree mounded specimen looks just like a sea anemone! Complete all-around and in great shape. Nearly all of the fantastic 2nd generation white helectites are pristine. The "mother" stalactite has a broken top and a secondary broken stalactite reveals the hollow tube, where the precipitating fluids flowed, adding pizzazz. There is a Knock and Westmorland near the Silverband Mine, so the piece may be from a limestone outcrop nearby. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 1249 and acquired from Scott Williams in the late 1950s. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017). VERY RARE, perhaps unique cave calcite from this less well-known Cumbria locale.