Fluorite with Rhodochrosite on Sphalerite (mined: 1978)

Item Description

A lovely thumbnail association specimen from one of the most well-known localities in the United States. This piece is NOT from recent mining at the Sweet Home Mine, it actually dates back to 1978, when Rich Kosnar and his father-in-law Dave Bergman were operating the Sweet Home Mine for specimen recovery. This was the first operation in the history of the Sweet Home, specifically for specimen recovery. While the Sweet Home Mine is best known for its phenomenal Rhodochrosite specimens, it also produced some beautiful Fluorites. This thumbnail hosts a few sharp, gemmy, crystals of purple Fluorite measuring up to 1.0 cm across which are associated with minor pink Rhodochrosite on grey-black Sphalerite. As is often the case with Fluorite, crystals look best in sunlight, and when this piece is viewed in the sun, the color looks a bit more saturated. Excellent condition, no major damage and a good representative piece of this wonderful material to add to any Fluorite suite or a collection of Colorado minerals.
This specimen was self-collected by Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman and comes from this personal collection. Dave is now retired from mining, but he was formerly the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine during the late 1970s. He is also 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".