Rhodochrosite with Fluorite (ex Frank Valenzuela and Michael Garced Collections)

Sunnyside Mine, Bonita Peak, Gladstone, Eureka District, San Juan County, Colorado
Small Cabinet, 8.0 x 7.8 x 5.6 cm
Start Time: 04/25/2019 7:00:00 pm (CDT)
End Time: 05/07/2019 7:00:00 pm (CDT)
Auction Closed

Item Description

This famous Sunnyside Mine is responsible for producing some of the most iconic Rhodochrosites from any US locality. These pieces were actually the best known Rhodochrosites from Colorado prior to the reopening of the Sweet Home Mine by Richard Kosnar in the late 1970s. The Sunnyside is long closed, and good Rhodos are always sought after by collectors. Here we have a very attractive small cabinet display specimen featuring glowing pink rhombs of Rhodochrosite measuring up to 8 mm associated with very pale green (nearly colorless) gemmy Fluorites with minor sulfides and Quartz on matrix. The Rhodos have formed in a shallow vug, which has protected the central crystals, but a few of the Rhodos near the periphery are contacted. This piece was originally labeled as coming from the "American Tunnel Mine", but this is a misnomer, as all the good Rhodos were found in the upper levels of the Sunnyside Mine. From the worldwide mineral collection of Michael Garced with a hand-written label from the collection of Frank Valenzuela. Valued at $950

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