Vanadinite (var: Arsenatian Vanadinite) ("Endlichite") (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

For some time, "Endlichite" was considered a species, but is now classified as an Arsenic-bearing (Arsenatian) variety of Vanadinite. This lovely display specimen hosts many classic, lustrous, brown colored, almost metallic looking, thick, hexagonal prismatic crystals of "Endlichite" on minor oxidized matrix. The crystals are smooth and not at all hoppered, like many Endlichites from places like Mexico. No major damage that I can see, and the piece is notably dense for its size. The largest crystal measures 1.6 cm long. It should be noted that the piece was labeled as coming from Mibladen, but it's almost certainly from Touissit, as its look identical to others we've seen from the locality. The piece dates back around 50 years to the early 1970s. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#). 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).