Manganite (old classic) (ex Hamilton College / Oren Root Collection)

Item Description

Manganite has been known at least since the 1820s. The first specimens were found at Ilfeld in Thuringia, Germany, and to this day, the best crystals are still regarded as the finest examples of the species known. These specimens are world famous for their impressive large crystals in fine form and quality, rarely seen from anywhere else in the world. Ilfeld is long defunct, and collectors are always on the hunt for these classic old specimens as they occasionally will appear on the market from old collections. Here we have a nice small cabinet sized piece of this beloved material featuring classic, sharp, well-formed, thin, jet-black colored prisms of Manganite nestled into open vugs of massive Manganite matrix. The largest crystal measures about 5 mm long. Small white bladed Barite crystals can be seen here and there as well. It's not easy to obtain specimens of Manganite from Ilfeld like this, so if you collect German species, old classics or "black" rocks, don't miss out on this one. The piece comes with a couple of old labels from Hamilton College (one of which states it was from the Oren Root Collection), along with a label from noted Czech/Slovak mineral expert, Josef Vajdak of Pequa Rare Minerals, which immediately increases the value. You can read Joe's biography here: http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=1371.