Thulite (manganese-bearing Zoisite) (old material) (ex Morvell and Sebela Collections)

Item Description

This piece is certainly several decades old, and comes from an historic part of the United States, as the town of Tyringham dates back to 1762! This is an incredibly hard to find specimen featuring gorgeous pink Thulite (manganian Zoisite) with thin prismatic crystals on silvery-beige Muscovite and white Albite matrix. It should be pointed out that Thulite was once a valid species, but it is now defined as a manganese-bearing variety of Zoisite. Lastly, the manganese content of Thulite makes it maganian not manganoan due to the fact that it is trivalent and not divalent, like the majority of manganese in many minerals. With strong magnification you can see the Thulite is crystalline - not truly crystallized - but that color is what really catches the eye. If you collect rarities, beautifully colored minerals or even New England minerals, don't miss out on this one. This is the first piece of this material that we've had to offer, and I doubt highly that we will have another anytime soon. This specimen comes from the collection of Gerry Morvell, and is accompanied by a label from the well-known East Coast collector, Al Sebela.