Fluoro-richterite (ex Willard Wulff Collection)

Item Description

Wilberforce is one of the best known localities for specimens of Fluoro-richterite (formerly Fluorrichterite). This piece is a great example as it features multiple crystals of this amphibole species (there are actually six individual valid species of "Richterite"), and not just a solitary prism. Sharp, well-formed, deep greenish-black, lustrous crystals of Fluoro-richterite measuring up to 3.4 cm associated with minor Feldspar and attached matrix. The piece is three-dimensional, great quality for the species, and certainly old material from this well known calcium metamorphic deposit. Surprisingly the piece is not repaired, and is actually almost damage free, save the bottom of one of the bigger crystals where it was removed from the pocket. This specimen comes from the collection of Willard W. Wulff (1904-1998) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a prominent figure and collector of Colorado minerals. Wulff was one of the founding members of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society in 1936. You can read Willard's bio on the Mineralogical Record website here ( http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=1528 ). The piece comes with a typed label from Wulff on one of his famous 3x5 index cards which states that it was obtained from Julian Reasenberg.