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🚨Bidding closes 7/16/2026🚨
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Prehnite
Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mtns., Simanjiro Dist., Manyara Region, Tanzania
1.7 x 1.7 x 1.7 cm

A truly spherical Prehnite “ball”, showing no contacts or points of growth. In person, this is mesmerizing, translucent with a strong apple green color; and impactful as a full-sized thumbnail specimen. It is NOT just a spherical shape as if it came from a cluster of such things, but it formed free floating somehow, and is equant and complete! This is from a strange little find at this famous Tanzanite mining location, and we bought a half dozen directly from a well-known Tanzanite importer who brought them in. Most were incomplete, of what he had, and only a few were complete spheres with such symmetry - including this competitive level thumbnail we sold to Alex at the time (around 2012). Highly unusual from this location, and for the species, how many truly round “ball” shapes do we see of normally crystallized species? These specimens are now scattered into major thumbnail collections. Ex. Dr. Alex Schauss

🚨Bidding closes 7/9/2026🚨
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Fluorite
Blanchard Mine, Bingham, Hansonburg Dist., Socorro Co., New Mexico, USA
7.6 x 5.7 x 5.2 cm

Fluorites from the Blanchard mine are about as classic as minerals from the southwestern US get. This piece features sharp, gem/gemmy cubic Fluorite crystals which show a color shift from a strong teal-blue color in sunlight to a pastel purplish-blue color in halogen lighting. The cubes measure up to 1.1 cm and have a typical soft matte luster seen at this mine, but some of the crystals very gemmy inside and are sitting on white stubby Quartz crystals matrix. Collecting at this locality is not easy, and typically the Fluorite specimens are not 100% damage free. This piece has some VERY minor nicks but otherwise quite displayable. Ex. George Kamin