Calcite stalactite (RARE 1889! - fluorescent) ex British Museum

Item Description

Dramatic, VERY RARE, OLD-TIME English calcite from the extinct coal mines around Dalton, West Lancashire. This fantastic looking stalactite with the dramatic spiky secondary dogtooth calcite overgrowths looks like a knobstick war club! The broken base reveals the hollow tube, where the precipitating fluids flowed, adding even more character. MINDAT lists four coal mines near Dalton, with NO photographic examples. Comes with an OLD label in German from a 19th century Zurich collection with an October, 1889 date. The piece was obtained from the Director of the British Museum Mineral Collection at the time (1889) according to the old label!. Pristine, this is a UNIQUE old-time British stalactitic calcite with a super provenance. Ghostly white fluorescence.