Rhodonite (Rich Kosnar Coll.) on ore

Item Description

Rich seams of rose-pink rhodonite crystals are interspersed with the large and rare "slickenside" surface caused by frictional movement along a fault plane. The slickensides rest on hefty, rich Franklin ore (frankinite and willemite). This extremely rare old-time combination specimen (circa 1890s) was formerly in the Robert Gage (gageite) and Robert Hesse Collections, according to the Rich Kosnar label. The piece may also contain schallerite - a very rare sheet silicate with arsenic. Schallerite was not discovered until 1924! We were told by several people that the large brown lathe in the middle is schllerite, but others have cautioned it is not (and we have not analysed it). So, the piece is being sold as a cabinet sized rhodonite...any other species are a bonus.