Rhodochrosite on Manganite ex Jack Halpern, Prosper Williams

Item Description

Two isolated clusters of sparkling Rhodochrosite adorn this sizable piece of Manganite, from the famous Hotazel mining area in its heyday circa 1980. The Rhodochrosite crystals, with the largest cluster being 1.5 cm, are gemmy, cherry-red, and have an attractive, silky luster. The contrast in colors is visually very appealing, and if you look closely you will see the terminations of some of the Rhodos splaying out in opposite directions. That indicates some level of development of the famous and highly-desirable Wheatsheaf habit. This cabinet-sized specimen well-represents the great mining area of Hotazel, and good Rhodo/Manganite combinations are simply hard to come by now, for a good reason - few people who have them, sell them. This piece was purchased directly after it came out by Jack from the noted and well-respected direct source for so many of these at the time, Prosper Williams. Valued $4000-5000 as a safe minimum, we would think. There are numerous references to Jack and his collection in print, but perhaps a good tour of the collection and its history will help give perspective on just how good, and important, this collection is: https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection