Variscite with Crandallite & Wardite

Item Description

This item is part of a special benefit auction for the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (ricenorthwestmuseum.org). Items are either deaccessions from the museum's collection or were donated by generous supporters listed below.

Auction open April 1, 2021 through April 17, 2021.

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, April 19, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

It's hard to believe that these beautiful Variscite nodules and the enclosing phosphate-rich rock were once mined and processed as phosphate ore, and destroyed! This happens to be a gorgeous, polished end cut of a Variscite nodule from the Little Green Monster Mine in Utah which is the world's best locality for this style. It displays very intricate and captivating patterns and textures of bright sea green, light olive yellow and gray-white representing several phosphate minerals that include Variscite and Crandallite (yellow), with some (gray) Wardite as well. Both rounded and angular shapes have thin concentric bands of the various phosphate minerals. The right side of the piece is dominated by Variscite and the left side by Crandallite and Wardite; with the two separated by a complexly banded and interrupted gray zone that adds additional character to this marvelous piece. This piece has an exceptional polish! The Little Green Monster Mine is famous for its gorgeous nodules of green Variscite, the beauty of which hardly needs description. Old-time (early 1900's, with one well-known collecting spree by Ed Over in 1937), rare, and colorful, these intricate combinations are still desirable and sought-after, a century later. 478 grams. As a final note, this is a desirable end cap for a nodule, not just a slice.