"Sand" Calcite (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

A beautiful and rarely seen specimen of the famous and elusive "Sand" Calcites from Rattlesnake Butte in South Dakota. This locality is sometimes referred to as "Devil's Hill" or "Snake Hill", but the specimens are unmistakable. A group of sharp, well-formed, scalenohedral crystals of Calcite - with the largest measuring a full 2.7 cm - that have a beige tinge created by particles of sand included inside the Calcites. According to MINDAT: the site is a National Natural Landmark (NNL) and is closed to collecting, but a fair amount of specimens came out over 50 years ago. Good quality, with no real damage to the display side. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#4308). Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017).