Special Jack Halpern Mineral Collection Auction

ATTENTION:  We are happy to announce our new book featuring the Jack Halpern collection entitled "Addicted to Beauty", which will be available in March from the Mineralogical Record.  The following is an excerpt from Rob Lavinsky from foreword of the book.  "I am honored to have been entrusted with the deaccessioning of Jack Halpern’s famed collection. This book is not only designed to commemorate Jack's minerals, but also the man himself and how he inspired so many of us who are in the hobby today. Regarding the sale of his collection, Jack’s one comment and wish to me and to his family and friends was that we would carry forward his 'Legacy of Beauty' out into the broad world." We are proud to present the next in our series of special auctions from the collection of Jack Halpern.  Each month we are going to offer a selection of fine quality specimens from Jack's 3,200+ piece collection.  The VAST majority of these pieces from Jack's collection will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves an equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality specimens for their collections.      

Jack Halpern was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco.   Before Jack was a mineral collector, he graduated from New York University Summa Cum Laude with a degree in accounting, but shortly after enlisted in the Navy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor during WWII, eventually reaching the rank of Lt. Commander.  Years later, Jack toured the California Academy of Sciences in 1962 and became captivated by the specimens on display, thus starting a multi-decade long obsession with mineral collecting.  Jack already had a background in collecting, as he was quite passionate about flowers, serving in the presidency of both the San Francisco Rose Society and the San Francisco Orchid Society, well before the “collecting bug” grew to include minerals.  Over the years, Jack assembled his 3,200+ specimen collection with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece.  Jack admired pieces of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.

Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting.  He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world.   We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections.  We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.

We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/  for more information 

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Fluorite with Calcite (2021 find)
Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China
Ex. Jack Halpern
7.5 x 6.7 x 6.6 cm
Winning Bid: $545
Vanadinite (classic material)
ACF Mine, Mibladen, Aït Oufella Caïdat, Midelt Cercle, Midelt Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, Morocco
Ex. Jack Halpern
4.9 x 1.3 x 0.8 cm
Winning Bid: $92
Azurite (historic material)
Chessy Copper Mines, Chessy, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France (Type Locality)
Ex. Jack Halpern
4.7 x 3.2 x 2.3 cm
Winning Bid: $435
Amazonite (rich color with white ''stripes'' and ''caps'') (Mined: 1984)
R. A. Kosnar ''Stripe Cliam'' near Lake George, Park Co., Colorado, USA
Ex. Jack Halpern; Rich Kosnar
4.7 x 4.1 x 2.3 cm
Winning Bid: $655
Scheelite with Beryl var: Goshenite and Muscovite
Pingwu Beryl Mine, Huya Township, Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang, Sichuan, China
Ex. Jack Halpern
11.3 x 8.8 x 2.5 cm
Winning Bid: $700
Quartz (GEM ''floater'' etched crystal)
Tormiq, Haramosh Mts., Roundu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
Ex. Jack Halpern
14.7 x 3.7 x 3.3 cm, 162.0 grams
Winning Bid: $556
Fluor-uvite - Uvite Series (Tourmaline) on Magnesite
Pedra Preta Pit, Serra das Éguas, Brumado, Bahia, Brazil
Ex. Jack Halpern
5.3 x 5.2 x 3.2 cm
Winning Bid: $910
Cerussite (reticulated twin)
Tsumeb Mine, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
Ex. Jack Halpern; Mark Rattay
7.1 x 1.6 x 1.6 cm
Winning Bid: $201
Quartz var: Amethyst (with ''phantoms'')
Guanajuato, Guanajuato Municipality, Guanajuato, Mexico
Ex. Jack Halpern
10.7 x 8.7 x 4.7 cm
Winning Bid: $652
Calcite (imitating Fluorite) with Quartz
Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India
Ex. Jack Halpern
8.7 x 4.7 x 3.7 cm
Winning Bid: $692
Rutile (twin) (classic material)
Graves Mountain, Lincoln Co., Georgia, USA
Ex. Jack Halpern
6.1 x 3.7 x 3.2 cm
Winning Bid: $465
Pyrrhotite
Dalnegorsk, Dalnegorsk Urban District, Primorsky Krai, Russia
Ex. Jack Halpern
7.2 x 5.2 x 4.7 cm
Winning Bid: $580
Rhodochrosite
Santa Eulalia Mining District, Aquiles Serdán Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico
Ex. Jack Halpern
10.7 x 9.2 x 5.0 cm
Winning Bid: $847
Natrolite (rare locality specimen)
Dean Quarry, The Lizard, St Keverne, Cornwall, England, UK
Ex. Jack Halpern
7.7 x 6.2 x 3.6
Winning Bid: $160
Mimetite (excellent thumbnail)
Tsumeb Mine, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
Ex. Jack Halpern; Mark Rattay
2.7 x 1.4 x 0.8 cm
Winning Bid: $1,383
Calcite included with Cuprite var: Chalcotrichite with Malachite
Tsumeb Mine, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
Ex. Jack Halpern; Mark Rattay
7.2 x 3.7 x 2.3 cm
Winning Bid: $2,300
Prehnite
Goboboseb Mountains, Brandberg Area, Dâures Constituency, Erongo Region, Namibia
Ex. Jack Halpern
8.6 x 4.7 x 2.2 cm
Winning Bid: $270
Tourmaline on Quartz
Cruzeiro Mine, São José da Safira, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Ex. Jack Halpern
6.3 x 4.5 x 1.2 cm
Winning Bid: $4,800
Pyrope-Almandine Garnet (gemmy crystal) on Graphite
Red Embers Mine, Erving, Franklin Co., Massachusetts, USA
Ex. Jack Halpern
9.5 x 6.6 x 1.1 cm
Winning Bid: $228
Fluorite (gemmy bi-colored crystals) on Quartz
Jiangxi, China
Ex. Jack Halpern
9.3 x 6.3 x 5.2 cm
Winning Bid: $625
Cassiterite (excellent twins) with Muscovite
Pingwu Beryl Mine, Huya Township, Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang, Sichuan, China
Ex. Jack Halpern
5.6 x 4.3 x 4.3 cm
Winning Bid: $2,950
Azurite with Malachite
Christiana Mine No. 132, Mercati Mines, Agios Konstantinos, Lavrion, Lavreotiki, East Attica, Attica, Greece
Ex. Jack Halpern
11.3 x 8.2 x 2.7 cm
Winning Bid: $359
Bismuthinite with Pyrite and Quartz
Shangbao Mine, Leiyang Co., Hengyang, Hunan, China
Ex. Jack Halpern
8.7 x 5.5 x 4.7 cm
Winning Bid: $201
Calcite (Cobalt-bearing) (rich color)
Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines Copper-Cobalt Project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo
Ex. Jack Halpern; Marty Zinn
4.5 x 3.3 x 2.9 cm
Winning Bid: $415
Hausmannite on Andradite Garnet
N'Chwaning Mines, Kuruman, Kalahari manganese field, Northern Cape, South Africa
Ex. Jack Halpern
4.4 x 3.2 x 3.1 cm
Winning Bid: $490
Beryl var: Goshenite (GEM etched crystal)
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Ex. Jack Halpern
3.2 x 2.7 x 2.2 cm, 31.5 grams
Winning Bid: $525
Malachite pseudomorph after Baryte
Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines Copper-Cobalt Project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo
Ex. Jack Halpern
5.7 x 4.7 x 3.3 cm
Winning Bid: $130
Fluorite (classic gemmy twin)
Heights Quarry, Westgate, Weardale, County Durham, England, UK
Ex. Jack Halpern; Irv Brown
3.7 x 3.3 x 2.9 cm
Winning Bid: $220
Corundum var: Sapphire
Ganish Marbles, Nagar District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
Ex. Jack Halpern
3.6 x 2.3 x 2.3 cm
Winning Bid: $925
Fluorite with Sphalerite
Gordonsville Mine, Carthage, Smith Co., Tennessee, USA
Ex. Jack Halpern; Dr. Steve Neely
12.1 x 6.3 x 3.3 cm
Winning Bid: $470