Calcite w/ Hematite and phantom (old classic) ex Harvard

Item Description

A remarkable, large calcite from the historic iron mines of Egremont. The scintillating, high luster of this steep scalenohedron comes from the fabulous, scale-like, stepped-growth on the prism faces. The near-gem, highly modified rhomb at the termination with the visible phantom and the striking rust-red, hematite inclusions on the sides make this simply an outstanding and colorful old English calcite. The sparkly luster is unmatched on the stepped-growth faces. Complete all-around and very nearly pristine, with only very trivial termination wear and only one small spot of side wear. For a 100-year-old-plus, large specimen of a soft mineral, this is really good as a display piece of quality, with incredible architecture and color as well. frankly we think this is one of the better things we have put in the auctions. You could easily expect to see such at shows, with the old classics dealers for $1000 or more (or 1000 euros, for that matter). From the Harvard Collections, ex George Elling collection recently.