Quartz (''Amethystine'') with gemmy Sphalerite

Item Description

Creede is the only incorporated municipality in all of Mineral County, Colorado, and frankly the town would not exist if silver had not been discovered there in the 1880s. While the area is best known for its silver deposits, Creede is also the namesake for the species Creedite, and many other minerals have been found there including some attractive Amethyst specimens. This piece features the largest individual crystals of Amethyst that I can remember seeing from Creede, hands down. To be fair, the color is a fairly light, so you might call it "Amethystine", but it's not white or colorless. The individual crystals measure up to 5.3 cm long, and all feature sharp, well-formed faces on all sides, but what really stands out to me is that they are notably isolated, with good space in between each crystal, so they are not only large for Creede, but they are spread apart, which is also quite rare for any Amethyst I can remember seeing from the locality. Additionally, the icing on the cake is that there are several fine quality, sharp, well-formed Sphalerite crystals on the matrix, which measure up to about 8 mm across, and they show a vivid rich golden to greenish-gold color when backlit. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the piece is that it is in superb condition, with no major damage that I can find anywhere. A truly impressive specimen for the locality, as its big, showy and fine quality. Valued $3,000.
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.