Phenakite on Smoky Quartz

Item Description

Mt. Antero is one of the great old historic pegmatite localities in the western United States. It has been the source of excellent Aquamarine specimens since the 1880s, with crystals showing rich color and sometimes excellent transparency. Collecting takes place at an elevation of over 13,000 feet, making it one of the highest elevations for collecting in the United States. While the Aquamarine crystals are the most famous specimens to come from this locality, Mt. Antero has also produced some excellent crystals of Phenakite. The majority of the crystals we've seen over the years are loose singles, off matrix, so to find a piece ON matrix like this is rare and desirable. This is a lovely miniature specimen featuring a sharp, well-formed, soft beige colored rhombic crystal of Phenakite measuring 1.0 cm across, sitting right in the middle of a partial crystal of dark Smoky Quartz. The Phenakite is undamaged and looks great up close. A wonderful piece for any fan of gem species, Phenakites or minerals from Colorado / Mt Antero. Valued $950
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".