Rhodochrosite

Item Description

In the history of Colorado mining, the Rhodochrosites from the Sunnyside Mine were the best and most well-known examples of the species for decades. Very little in the way of Sweet Home material existed, and the Sunnyside pieces were much more abundant in the 1950s-1970s on the market. The Sweet Home Mine was actively operating - starting in 1977 with Rich Kosnar - and the Sunnyside would not produce much in way of specimens after 1978, so we really haven't seen any new Sunnyside specimens on the market for over 50 years, as this locality is completely closed down, and good specimens are highly sought after by collectors around the world. This gorgeous specimen is features sharp, well-formed, soft pink color rhombs of Rhodochrosite measuring up to 4 mm, sitting on classic white Quartz matrix. A very eye-catching and showy specimen for any collector of Rhodochrosites or Colorado minerals. It should be noted that many of these pieces are labeled as coming from the American Tunnel, but the good Rhodos all came from the upper levels of the Sunnyside Mine. Former Brian Kosnar specimen, originally from the collection of Brett Keller.