Cancrinite (rare and classic)

Item Description

A wonderful rare specimen of the highly sought after, elusive specimens of Cancrinite from the Dennis Hill locality in Maine which dates back to 1845 at least. Cancrinite is not often seen in good quality display specimens, and I think the pieces from Dennis Hill are quite possibly the most recognizable example of the species in the world. This piece is a typical specimen of this well-known material with beautiful gemmy yellow crystals of this complex silicate (feldspathoid) which according to the label with associated with "Lepidomelane" mica (possibly Annite) and "Eleolite" (a variety of Nepheline). The label itself is historic as it's from the legendary mineral dealer, Hugh A. Ford. Since the label has Ford's New York address, it dates to 1946-1957. I don't know for sure who identified the other species (actually neither Lepidomelane nor Eleolite are species), but I'm leaving them for the sake of the label. For a final touch, the piece actually looks beautiful under SW and LW UV light as you can see from the photos!