Turquoise pseudomorph after Apatite (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

The Cripple Creek area in Central Colorado is best known for its gold / telluride minerals, but a small amount of attractive Turquoise has been mined there for decades. Most people don't associate Colorado with Turquoise, as it's better-known from nearby Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, but the Cripple Creek material is certainly well-known among the locals. This piece is a nice reference specimen of this elusive material featuring small green-blue Turquoise that has pseudomorphed after hexagonal crystals of Apatite on pink Feldspar matrix. The largest pseudomorph measures only a few mm, but they look nice under magnification. The piece was collected in the late 1960s and very few were found. A cool rarity for any fan of pseudomorphs or minerals from Colorado.
Ex Richard ("Rich") A. Kosnar collection (1946-2007), one of the premier mineral dealers and collectors of his day. Rich was originally from New Jersey, but spent the majority of his life in Colorado. He was the namesake for the rare zirconium phosphate, Kosnarite, one of the few dealers to have this honor bestowed upon him.