Manganite (old classic material)

Item Description

This piece was originally purchased from the Dr. Otto Kunz collection (Iowa City, Iowa), and is a great quality display piece of this beautiful old classic material. Manganite from Ilfeld was described in the 1820s, and the first reported specimens are still the best examples ever found, even 200 years later. These piece are world famous for their impressive large crystals in excellent form and quality. Nothing compares to best pieces from Ilfeld, as they are instantly recognizable with their beautiful heavily striated prismatic form and glistening luster. Although the locality is long defunct, 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 large miniature / small cabinet sized example of this beloved material featuring classic, sharp, well-formed, thick, jet-black colored prismatic crystals of Manganite with the iconic "stepped" terminations sitting atop additionally Manganite crystal matrix. The largest crystal measures 3.0 cm long. There are a few contacted crystals, so the piece is not 100% pristine, but it's still very showy and it's a good sized display piece. It's not easy to obtain excellent example of Manganite from Ilfeld like this, so if you collect German species, old classics or "black" rocks, this is a nice representative example for your collection. I value this one in the range of about $2,000-$2,500.
From the collection of Gary and Terry Butts of Livermore, Colorado. This husband and wife collecting duo were childhood sweethearts, and have been together since they began dating as teenagers growing up in East Des Moines, Iowa in the 1950s. Both of them had an early interest in the hobby thanks to the fact that Terry's parents had a keen interest in lapidary, which sparked an interest in rocks for both of them. Gary and Terry were featured in an article in the Des Moines Register on Feb 4, 1962 (see photo in this listing) highlighting their interest and prowess in the hobby as youngsters. Gary traveled to various localities around the US as a teenager with his father (who worked in the tin industry), to personally collect specimens. He then attended the School of Mines in Golden, Colorado and graduated in 1967 with a degree in extractive metallurgical engineering. We went to work for Duval Corp at the Esperanza Mine south of Tucson, Arizona and then work for Cyprus Mines, Hazen Research, Pincock, Allen & Holt and the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute. His final job was in the mineral and environmental division of Intertek Testing Services of London, which owned the Canadian mineral testing company, Bonder Clegg. Gary's various jobs allowed him to travel the world and build his collection by buying a lot of specimens in person when they were coming out of the ground. Additionally, Terry's uncle was a miner in Creede, Colorado and later owned a rock shop which supplied Gary with specimens from the area. The specimens in this auction represent what Gary and Terry considered the "cream of the crop" of their collection.