Fluorapatite with Siderite (classic locality)

Item Description

Here we have a lovely older specimen from the 1960s era from Panasqueira featuring many sharp, lustrous, thick translucent hexagonal crystals of Fluorapatite of a pleasing green hue measuring up to 1.8 cm across, associated with rich golden compressed rhombs of Siderite measuring up to 3.2 cm across, with a bit of attached Pyrite on the back. I love the combination of the two species, as the Siderite gently envelops some of the Apatites around the edges for a nice effect. The piece is close a "floater" as it's largely crystallized all over, though I can see a few points of attachment where it separated from the pocket wall. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the piece is the good sized Siderite "disc" that is isolated and free-standing off the end of the piece. There are a few spots of damage on the piece, it's not perfect, but it's still a rather showy and presentable example of these truly distinctive and iconic Apatites from one of the great European localities in history.
From the collection of George Elling, a prominent East Coast collector. The piece also comes with a great old label from the Carnegie Museum, along with a label from dealer Walt Lidstrom.