Rhodochrosite (ex Willard Wulff Collection)

Item Description

From the site of the first Gold rush in Colorado, here we have what are the best examples of Rhodochrosite from Gilpin County. These pieces are very hard to find on the market, few good examples were ever found, but the best of these crystals have a notably intense pink-red color with good internal gemminess. Most of the the crystals I've seen from this locality are loose rhombs off matrix, and they often have some kind of coating, whether it be black manganase oxide or brownish iron oxide. This single crystal is a good representative example of Moose Mine Rhodo with sharp well-formed faces, a medium reddish-pink hue and decent internal gemminess when backlit. If you collect Rhodochrosite, Colorado minerals, or just interesting thumbnails, don't miss out on this one. This piece comes to us from the collection of Willard W. Wulff (1904-1998) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a prominent figure and collector of Colorado minerals. Wulff was one of the founding members of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society in 1936. You can read Willard's bio on the Mineralogical Record website here ( http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=1528 ). The piece was originally mounted in a "Perky" box with a typed label from Wulff's collection on the base, but it came loose, so we had to photograph it separately. We will include the box with the specimen when shipped.