Legrandite (TYPE LOCALITY!)

Item Description

Bright clusters of amber-yellow, translucent to gemmy Legrandite crystals populate the contrasting matrix of drusy, sparkling Siderite from the Flor de Pena Mine, the TYPE LOCALITY for Legrandite. The Legrandite crystals range up to 8 mm, are often grouped in pairs or radiating clusters, and they show golden fire in good light. Most people assume that the Ojuela Mine in Durango was the type locality but this is not true…it was found here first, if more sparsely and in smaller crystals. Specimens from Flor de Pena are extremely scarce and only turn up in old collections, generally of people who heavily collected Mexico material in the 1950s- 1960s when they came out. Large matrix specimens like this are a few in a decade, if that...it is significant, and beautiful. This is a large, aesthetic plate and should be considered an extreme rarity, a piece of mineralogical history by today’s standards. Legrandite is definitely one of those 'Holy Grail' species for collectors and a type locality Legrandite among the hardest things to obtain. Something like this would normally be valued easily $5000 and up if seen at a mineral show, or on the shelf of any respectable dealers in public...they just are so rare and valued, and almost never for sale.