Vanadinite

Item Description

When you think about, Vanadinite as a species would not be nearly as well-known without the Moroccan specimen on the market. Not only are the simply the finest examples of the species extant, but they have been coming out for roughly 50 years, and nothing has even come anywhere close to surpassing them. The best pieces still command a premium on the market, even though specimens are still being found to this day. This piece features superb quality, rich red color, razor sharp, very lustrous, thick hexagonal crystals beautifully set on matrix. I love the fact that the crystals are well-isolated and not "jumbled" together. The largest Vanadinite measures 1.3 cm across. Great aesthetics and quality with only a few small contacts in a handful of spots. A showy Vanadinite specimen from this most famous of localities. These specimens are still seen often on the market, but they remain as the standard of quality for the species, and should not be discarded due to their abundance. Valued at $1,800. This piece comes from the personal collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman, the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. Dave is now retired from mining, but he worked for decades in various mines underground in Colorado, as a miner, mechanic, engineer, shift boss and foreman. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the foreman and the primary person in charge of mining and specimen recovery at the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado in the 1970s alongside his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar. This project what was the FIRST ever operation for specimen recovery at this historic locality. A full-page photograph of Dave can be seen mining underground at the Sweet Home in on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".