Chabazite (var: Phacolite) (twin)

Item Description

A rarely seen specimen of Chabazite from the Schahn Quarry near Baumholder in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The label accompanying this specimen says it's from a "Truppenübungspltatz" (military training area), and I can verify the quarry lies within a military training area according to the entry on mindat.org. A 1.6 cm, stark white colored, sharp, well-formed, lustrous, twinned group of Chabazite (often referred to as "Phacolite", as it was thought to be a separate species, but is now the varietal term used for the twins themselves), is aesthetically perched atop the underlying volcanic matrix. No damage that I can see, and the piece sits beautifully on its own without the aid of a base or clay. If you're a fan of zeolites or minerals from German localities, this is a fantastic example for your collection. Valued at $800. From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#9 D), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection over the next two to three years through our various platforms.