Quartz (var: Amethyst) (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

The Camp Bird Mine above Ouray, Colorado is one of the most classic of all the Colorado ore body localities. It is renowned for its wonderful sulfide specimens, i.e., Chalcopyrite, Sphalerite and Galena, and has also produced some very attractive Quartz specimens. This specimen is a VERY rarely seen Amethyst from the Camp Bird featuring sharp, well-formed, lustrous, gemmy to translucent hexagonal crystals which range in color from lavender to soft lilac to colorless. There are a few nicks, so the piece is not perfect, but it's a gorgeous "spray" with a color that is virtually unseen from the Camp Bird. These specimens are becoming impossible to obtain these days, and good sized display specimens like this are in demand for collectors. This piece was mined in 1960 by Dave Bergman and came from this personal collection. Dave is a Colorado miner (the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s) and the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".