Veatchite (very rare) on Colemanite (ex Bob Reynolds and Jim & Dawn Minette Collections)

Item Description

A rarity from Death Valley featuring snow white "tufts" of the very rare strontium borate species Veatchite sitting atop very well-formed, sharp, gemmy, colorless crystals of Colemanite. This piece is labeled as coming from the Borax Pit #3 in Death Valley, CA, and it comes with a hand-written label from the collection of Jim and Dawn Minette, which is as good as it gets in terms of credibility, as Jim worked for US Borax for 30+ years and rose to the level of mining manager for the company. He had one of the great borate collections in history and any piece with his label is golden in the mineral world. This is the first and only Veatchite specimen that we've seen from this locality, and if you're a fan of borates, rarities or minerals from California, you cannot afford to miss out on this piece, as you may never see another like, especially with such great pedigree. Valued at $1,500. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds (#RR0139) 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.