Quartz (classic locality)

Item Description

The Camp Bird Mine (above Ouray, Colorado) is one of the most famous localities in the state, and an especially iconic mine in the San Juan Mountain region. This significant gold producer operated for nearly a century (gold was first discovered there by Thomas Walsh in 1896), but specimens are fairly hard to find on the market these days. Here we have a beautiful group of sharp, well-formed, lustrous white to colorless, rather thick prismatic Quartz crystals, with a small amount of associated Pyrite and Calcite at the base. I love how the crystals have formed an almost "flower"-like group, with each individual crystal distinctly separate from the others, so you can really get the full effect of the piece overall. The tips of the crystals are actually a bit gemmy, transitioning from the more milky quality at the base. A lot of Camp Bird Quartz specimens are not terribly eye-catching, and often feature smaller crystals, so to find a piece of this size and quality, with thicker than average crystals for the locality is a big deal. No major damage I can find. A choice example for any fan of worldwide Quartz, Colorado minerals or specifically pieces from the Camp Bird Mine.
Ex George Loud Collection No. 210 CO.33; 9581. George (born August 16, 1942) is a well-known mineral collector from Washington, DC and South Carolina respectively, and was a patent lawyer by trade for over 50 years. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the U.S., comprising worldwide specimens, and in later years he sold the worldwide specimens to focus on minerals of the United States, specifically locality suites with an emphasis on amazing representation of species while still maintaining fine quality. The specimens remarkably range from micros to all the way up to large cabinets in size. We recently acquired most of his impressive 9000+ piece collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality specimens for their collections.
See: https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/george-loud for more information