Aragonite helectite (RARE CALIF find circa 1940s)

Titus Canyon, Leadfield, Inyo Co., California, USA
Small Cabinet, 7.6 x 6.3 x 5.0 cm
Start Time: 05/01/2021 6:45:00 pm (CDT)
End Time: 05/06/2021 6:30:00 pm (CDT)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $303

Item Description

An exceptional and RARE old cave aragonite helectite from this most obscure California locality. Nicknamed the "White Christmas Tree" for the fantastic and dramatic multi-branched arborescent form. The glassy, beautiful snow-white acicular crystals are a joy to behold on all sides of this stunning 360-degree piece. According to Rock Currier's description of a similar aragonite in the MINDAT Photo Gallery for the locale: "the specimen almost certainly has to be from the Crystal Snow Cave in what is now Death Valley, California. Probably collected in the early 1940's. The mine at the now ghost town of Leadfield was a stock scam and during the mining operations a cave was encountered that contained beautiful snow white aragonite formations. When the stock scam went bust, collectors began to remove specimens from the mine. Eventually it was included in Death Valley National Monument and the cave was closed." Most of the Grapevine Mountains are in the Death Valley National Park. Previously in the Scisco Collection. Formerly in the J.G. Dixon and Tom Wolfe Collections (both of which were the largest calcite collectors around in the mid 1900s and then late 1900s in SoCal). Ghostly white fluorescence. A fantastic and RARE old California aragonite helectite, only from recycled collections. VERY SELDOM on the market!

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$303 05/06/2021 6:09:01 pm (CDT)
$300 05/06/2021 6:09:01 pm (CDT)
$293 05/06/2021 6:08:45 pm (CDT)
$283 05/06/2021 6:08:45 pm (CDT)
$273 05/06/2021 4:55:24 pm (CDT)
$263 05/06/2021 4:55:24 pm (CDT)
$232 05/06/2021 4:52:21 pm (CDT)
$222 05/06/2021 4:52:15 pm (CDT)
$220 05/06/2021 4:52:15 pm (CDT)
$210 05/06/2021 4:30:51 pm (CDT)
$200 05/06/2021 4:30:51 pm (CDT)
$186 05/06/2021 11:21:22 am (CDT)
$176 05/06/2021 11:21:22 am (CDT)
$166 05/06/2021 10:18:40 am (CDT)
$156 05/06/2021 10:18:39 am (CDT)
$129 05/06/2021 4:41:50 am (CDT)
$119 05/06/2021 4:41:50 am (CDT)
$109 05/04/2021 8:00:20 pm (CDT)
$99 05/03/2021 9:38:06 pm (CDT)
$90 05/03/2021 9:38:06 pm (CDT)
$68 05/03/2021 10:24:39 am (CDT)
$58 05/03/2021 10:19:18 am (CDT)
$50 05/03/2021 10:19:18 am (CDT)
$10 05/03/2021 10:08:14 am (CDT)