Rhodochrosite on Quartz (1970, ex Eugene Sensel)

Item Description

The Sunnyside Mine mine has produced some of the prettiest pink Rhodochrosite from anywhere. This small cabinet piece features two, relatively large, pink, elongate "rosettes" of Rhodochrosite sitting on white, coarse, spikey bundles of drusy Quartz. The Rhodochrosites have nice luster and are composed of tight parallel, flattened rhombohedrons, all components having sharp, individual edges. The largest rosette measures 2.5 cm in longest dimension and the next largest is 2 cm. There are well over an additional two dozen smaller, 2 to 5 mm, pink rhombs and small aggregates scattered about the piece. All of the Rhodochrosite crystals are set on spikey, snow-white spherules of Quartz that almost completely cover the matrix from front to back, except the bottom where it was contacted. Good specimens of this material from this long defunct mine are now nearly impossible to find on the market and these specimens will no longer be seen except from old collections. This wsa mined by Richard Kosnar and sold to Sensel in 1970! Ex. Dr. Eugene Sensel collection with label from Kosnar as well. Valued $900-1200