Gillespite and Sanbornite (rare Ba-silicates) Al Ordway Coll.

Item Description

Thin platy veins of lustrous and translucent, rich strawberry-colored gillespite are emplaced in beautifully color contrasting white sugary sanbornite. Gillespite is a rare barium, iron silicate and sanbornite is a rare barium silicate. This is a very rich, colorful, superb piece of the material. Interestingly, it was a gift to Al from well-known San Diego collector, heiress Josephine Scripps, in 1980. She herself was an active field collector and often went to Mexico in search of finding her own minerals, so it is likely she self-collected this. Ex. Al Ordway Collection.