Quartz (doubly-terminated crystals) (RARE locality specimen)

Item Description

A really interesting and unique Quartz specimen from the little known Ben Franklin Mine near Silverton, Colorado. The mine is a former lead-silver producer that sits at over 12,000 feet in elevation. Very few specimens can be found on the market or in private collections from this locale, and this particular specimen is almost certainly the BEST piece I've seen. This showy cabinet specimen features many sharp, lustrous, white / colorless, prismatic Quartz crystals with notable tapered terminations measuring up to 6.3 cm aesthetically strewn across the underlying matrix. Several of the Quartz crystals are doubly-terminated and are range from milky in the centers to WATER clear on the tips. The tapered habit of the crystals is unusual for a Quartz specimen from the San Juan Mountains, and I honestly can't remember seeing anything quite like from anywhere around Silverton, Ouray or Telluride. I would say that some of the crystals resemble the "Ticino" / "Tessin" habit of Quartz, but others have a more unique appearance that is similar to crystals I've seen from La Garita, Colorado. With that said, it's a fantastic specimen and a must-add to any Quartz collection or Colorado mineral suite. Overall, the piece is in very good condition, though a few broken crystals can be seen here and there. Do not pass this one up, as it could be a very long time before another like it is available on the market. The piece comes with a label that states it was collected by JaM (Jack and Marty) Crawford in 2006.