Fluorite on Celestine

Item Description

This is perhaps the most classic of Ohio minerals, a honey-colored fluorite on contrasting bladed celestines from northern Ohio, just to the left of Toledo. Fran Allegra, like myself, always saw these at mineral shows when we were younger (he grew up in Cleveland) and wanted one. Even later in life, with fancy minerals on a shelf, these Ohio classics are worthy to have and treasure! At some point in about 2010, Fran ran into an old time Ohio field collector on one of his trips back home from DC, and obtained some old Ohio specimens. They were a pride in the collection, he talked about when people visited him in DC to see them (including supreme court judges consulting him on technology issues, congressmen, and museum people from the Smithsonian team). This specimen is a superbly balanced piece with great aesthetics, featuring a razor sharp crystal atop (3 cm on edge), with perfect color, high luster, and great translucency. The smaller crystal to the lower right is about an inch across, and looks pristine at first glance but actually has just a slender, thin layer of epoxy restoration on one edge and corner, that is almost impossible to see. Although many came out over different finds during the late 1900s and one major find in the early 2000s, this is a very fine example in the size, and stands above most. Valued $4500