Fluorite (ex Dave Bergman Collection) (collected 1978)

Item Description

While the Sweet Home Mine is best known for its phenomenal Rhodochrosite specimens, it also produced some beautiful Fluorites. This small cabinet hosts dozens of very sharp, gemmy, crystals of Fluorite measuring up to 3 mm which are associated with small, transparent "needle" like crystals of Quartz with mixed sulfides (Pyrite, Galena, Sphalerite) on matrix. The Fluorites might appear to be simple cubes, but there are slight, yet distinct dodecahedral modifications on the edges. At first glance, the Fluorites seem to be purple in color, but with a bit of backlighting you can see that they actually have beautiful green "cores" and show some slight blue and purple "phantom" color zoning. As is often the case with Fluorite, crystals look best in sunlight, and when this piece is viewed in the sun, the mixture of purple, green and blue hues really comes through. Excellent condition, no major damage (except on the edges where the piece was removed from the pocket wall) and a great piece of this wonderful material to add to any Fluorite suite or a collection of Colorado minerals. Priced at $500. Ex Dave Bergman Collection. Dave is a Colorado miner (formerly the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s) and the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".