Fluorapatite (classic material) (ex Bob Reynolds Collection)

Item Description

A classic Fluorapatite crystal from the now closed (2001) Pea Ridge Mine. This former iron mine was the source of some iconic Calcite specimens, along with some sulfides and oxides, but the Apatite crystals are rare and desirable. This is an excellent toenail sized from this locality featuring a sharp, lustrous, thick, hexagonal, terminated reddish-brown crystal with a very slight overgrowth of dark grey Hematite(?). Complete-all-around and excellent condition with textbook crystal form. It even has a few hollow openings on the termination, which could be the sign of negative / skeletal crystal growth. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.