Gypsum var: Selenite (''fishtail'' twin)

Item Description

A wonderful old-time specimen from the 1970s. These classic Gypsum (Selenite) specimens are iconic in the mineral world. They exhibit a notably defined style of twinning (sometimes called "fishtail" or "chevron" twins). This locality has produced some of the most well-known examples of "fishtail"-twinned Gypsum ever found. This small cabinet sized piece is a beautiful, sharp, well-formed, gemmy, colorless twinned group of Gypsum crystals with that classic habit, free of matrix. There is a bit of roughness in a few spots, so it's not 100% pristine, but it's still in good shape and looks nice from either side. This piece comes from the personal collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman, the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. Dave is now retired from mining, but he worked for decades in various mines underground in Colorado, as a miner, mechanic, engineer, shift boss and foreman. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the foreman and the primary person in charge of mining and specimen recovery at the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado in the 1970s alongside his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar. This project what was the FIRST ever operation for specimen recovery at this historic locality. A full-page photograph of Dave can be seen mining underground at the Sweet Home in on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".