Fluorite with Sphalerite

Gordonsville Mine, Carthage, Smith Co., Tennessee, USA
Ex. Jack Halpern; Dr. Steve Neely
Cabinet, 12.1 x 6.3 x 3.3 cm
Start Time: 01/11/2025 8:00:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 01/18/2025 6:30:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $470

Item Description

The Gordonsville Mine is a neighbor of the famous Elmwood Mine in Tennessee, and is well-known for producing fine quality specimens of species like Fluorite, Calcite and Sphalerite. These wonderful display specimens are not only instantly recognizable, but have also found their way into collections around the world for their excellent size, quality, color and displayability. This piece is a very good cabinet-sized specimen featuring several sharp, very gemmy, soft purple color cubic crystals measuring up to 2.5 cm on edge associated wth dark reddish-brown "Ruby Jack" Sphalerite crystals up to 1.7 across on matrix. The piece is in fine condition, with only no damage to the Fluorite or Sphalerite crystals. Such excellent presentation and displayability in this wonderful specimen from this classic locality.
For reference, the piece was originally valued at $3,500 retail on the accompanying dealer label.
This piece was formerly in the collection of Dr. Steve Neely, arguably the preeminent collector of minerals of the Carthage area in Tennessee.
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 the 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."
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 4276. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens 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 in the auctions.
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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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$470 01/17/2025 11:50:46 am (CST)
$460 01/17/2025 11:50:46 am (CST)
$410 01/17/2025 11:21:06 am (CST)
$400 01/17/2025 11:21:06 am (CST)
$295 01/16/2025 3:48:19 am (CST)
$285 01/16/2025 3:48:19 am (CST)
$260 01/16/2025 12:39:07 am (CST)
$250 01/16/2025 12:39:07 am (CST)
$242 01/15/2025 3:19:55 pm (CST)
$232 01/15/2025 3:19:55 pm (CST)
$135 01/13/2025 9:00:47 am (CST)
$125 01/13/2025 9:00:47 am (CST)
$120 01/12/2025 1:14:58 pm (CST)
$110 01/12/2025 1:14:57 pm (CST)
$85 01/12/2025 3:11:10 am (CST)
$75 01/12/2025 3:11:10 am (CST)
$65 01/11/2025 10:57:22 pm (CST)
$55 01/11/2025 10:57:22 pm (CST)
$10 01/11/2025 10:16:04 pm (CST)