Carrollite (large crystal!) (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

When these amazing Carrollite crystals first started to hit the market circa late 1990s-early 2000s,, they were immediately recognized as the finest examples of the species ever found. The best pieces from the Kamoya South II Mine are unquestionable the largest, sharpest, most impressive crystals of this rare copper, cobalt, nickel sulfide extant. This piece is a wonderful example of these superb crystal. The piece is a large, sharp, incredibly well-formed, lustrous / splendent, metallic, bright silvery colored modified cuboctahedral crystal free of matrix. Even for this locality, a crystals of Carrollite this size in quite impressive (nearly 2.5 inches across!) and the quality is fantastic with brilliant, euhedral faces. It's not common to find even common sulfide species that feature such fine quality crystals this size, but when you find something like this in a rarity like Carrollite, it's remarkable. I can see a few tiny "flea bites" on the piece, which is more than forgivable in my mind based upon the impressive size and caliber of the crystal, but please note that it's not complete on the underside where it was separated from the pocket wall. These pieces seemed to have dried up, and I don't know if more will be found. A great opportunity to snag to supreme specimen of Carrollite for a great price. Valued in the inventory at $5,000. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.