Smithsonite (classic material) (ex Bob Reynolds Collection)

Item Description

A beautiful, old-time Smithsonite specimen from the ancient mines at Lavrion (Laurium), Greece. The translucent, powder-blue Smithsonite botryoids have a surface oxidation creating a golden-brown hue on top, but you can see from the sides that the color is rather eye-catching underneath. The Laurium mines were called "ancient" in the time of the old Greeks a few thousand years ago, and these specimens are some of the most well-known examples of secondary ore minerals from any European locality. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds who passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.