Gmelinite ps. after Chabazite-Ca ex Atheneaum 1800s

Item Description

An exceptional specimen of Gmelinite on/after Chabazite. The Gmelinite, which has superb luster and forms triangular growth hillocks, has overgrown and partially replaced the Chabazite-Ca. Sometimes the original Chabazite dissolves away, but in this piece it is still mostly intact. These are referred to as contact twins (that is, the underlying Chabazite and then the overlyingGmelinite). Contact twinning from this locatity was common, while it is uncommon for other Nova Scotia Chabazite. The largest crystal, at one end, is a substantial 3 cm on edge. It is important to note that this is OLD MATERIAL, and not from the much more recent mining. That being said, this is hands down one of the very best of these specimens I have seen from that early mining. Previously in the Miller collection from the 1800’s, after which it went to James B. Cone and the Wadsworth Atheneaum, and then to the Loomis Chaffee School. From the collection of East Coast collector, George Elling, specializing in historic minerals of the East Coast and minerals from the development of old European mineralogy.