important Wulfenite on Calcite (early 1990s find)

Item Description

Red Cloud wulfenite has, for literally a century and more, set the world standard for wulfenite as a species as a general rule. Barring some few exceptions, from some few localities, these are the wulfenites that most sophisticated collectors end up drifting to owning. The reason is obvious - red, red, red in three words. However, there are degrees of quality within the spectrum of wulfenite finds. Color, luster, size, and isolation of crystals on matrix all varied from find to find. Only a few finds stand out, and are forever remembered as the most important - such as this: This is from the major early 1990s exploration project, overseen by Les Presmyk and Wayne Thompson, financed by musician James Horner's funding. This is a cabinet specimen with no repairs and no damage. It has crystals with the good juicy red-orange color of this pocket, that are really bright and sparkly. More than all of that, it has ISOLATED crystals on the best kind of matrix - a sparkly and contrasting matrix that is not the usual ugly rock from the location. Sparkles are due to minute calcite crystals underneath the wulfenite and put this into the top percentage of material from the finds as a result. Some plates are jumbled and busy. This, however, is aesthetic, with good spacing to the crystals and a mix of smaller crystals to accent the majors. And - miraculously, no damage! This is a hard, robust, stable matrix of rock. Unlike so many, It is not fragile at all and, unlike many, is easy to handle. The entire display surface on top can be protected in transport by hand or pallet shipment, and it will display stunningly in a showcase with even minimal light. What more can you ask for? However, we do not want to ship it because of the fine and exposed display face. The winner of this piece must work with us to arrange for hand delivery - which is usually possible to most places in the USA and Europe (for example, it can be sent to Germany or Italy with a little time, by pallet to the Munich show), given a little time and patience. This remarkable and important specimen is donated to the symposium auction anonymously and should be valued easily in the $15000-25000 range, very low to fair but higher. 

This specimen is part of the 2022 Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium benefit auction, with proceeds benefiting Mineralogical Record, Rocks & Minerals, Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, and mindat.org. Thanks to all of our participants!

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, August 22, for payment using PayPal or a credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost.