Oi! What about the best of the Brits?

mostly yes

Jesse Fisher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Isn't that the stuff we wash off of our galena?

You're scrubbing the best bits off Jesse.

Uber-rarities from Merehead. Green, bladed Chloroxiphite with orange mereheadite, pink-white mendipite and, if you look very closely along the chloroxiphite edges, red parkinsonite. Merehead is the type locality for parkinsonite and mereheadite and other nearby locations are the TLs for chloroxiphite and mereheadite.

Bugger! If I had only known I would have left the grotty stuff on the specimens and charged more! Live and learn...

Here's an Eastgate Cement Quarry fluorite and galena combo, collected in 2001. The galena has been mostly washed but still a few scarps of that grotty stuff hanging about, so not a complete loss.

Some nice photos turning up here. Good to see.

Here's another small one from Scotland...Ancylite-(Ce) from Strontian...


Regards
Steve

love this thread, thanks Steve and contributors!

Jesse,

In your pic of the Eastgate specimen in the upper right corner is a Fluorite twin with surface pits.
I have seen those before mostly on specimens from Whiteheaps, as negative imprints of missing quartz crystals. Never seen them (this clearly) on specimens from any other loc's in the neighbourhood. Can I assume these have the same origin or is there another explanation?

Cheers!

Philip

This huge calcite specimen is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It is apprximately 25cm in length and is comprised of three butterfly twins in a trilling arrangement. The photo does not do justice to this amazing specimen. From Egremont, Cumbria, of course.


Best,

Joe

Hello Philip,

We sometimes get fluorite crystals with that sort of surface pitting from the Rogerley as well. I think the impressions are the result of etching and not from quartz crystals now gone. The outline is rarely hexagonal as one would get from quartz, and quartz overgrowth on the late-forming gem twins is pretty rare. In our case, the quartz is usually earlier than the twinned fluorite. In a couple pockets we have found a fine-grained, sugary overgrowth of quartz on the fluorite, but when flaked away, it seems to leave only microscopic impressions on the faces of the fluorite.

Cheers,
Jesse

Nice rock Joe, do you think they might be interested in a trade

Another old-timer, a wire copper 6.5cm high, from Botallack adit, St Just, Cornwall, c1804

Ian,

I imagine they might trade if someone offers them the Hope Diamond. I'm sure they have gotten offers over the years as they have with other great specimens in the collection. I'm sure the same thing happens at the British Museum. We will have to be content to admire them from close up without ever touching them.

Your copper is very attractive; the intergrown crystals immediately got my attention.

Best,

Joe

Hi,

Another specimen from Britain in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Campylite from Roughten Gill. Approximately 20cm in length. An antique specimen from the heyday of the mine when only J. Pierrepont Morgan could afford to buy it.


Best,

Joe

Good to see so many British rocks, here is a wavellite from the type locality, High Down Quarry, Filleigh in Devon

Although a very small exposure, this material was still collectable 30 years ago.

Happy days

Come on, I know there is more out there, lets have more pictures.

Joseph Polityka Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ian,
>
> I imagine they might trade if someone offers them
> the Hope Diamond. I'm sure they have gotten
> offers over the years as they have with other
> great specimens in the collection. I'm sure the
> same thing happens at the British Museum. We will
> have to be content to admire them from close up
> without ever touching them.
>
> Your copper is very attractive; the intergrown
> crystals immediately got my attention.
>
> Best,
>
> Joe

Joe

Joe

What about a "Merthyr diamond", do you think they might bite for one of those instead. So dam fussy museums, keep asking the BM if they want to swap their box from Virtuous Lady, but no joy so far

4" "diamond" I collected from Nant Hellen, an opencast coal mine in south Wales a couple of years ago

Glad you liked the Botallack copper, a classic old Cornish piece.

cheers

ian

Fantastic Campylite Joseph, one day I hope to get my hands on some, but i think the locality is more likely Dry Gill than Roughton Gill? But maybe someone more familiar with the minerals of Caldbeck Fells will correct me.

Hi Ian and all,

What a lovely topic. Thank you all for posting.

Here is more, clinoclase from Wheal Gorland : [www.mindat.org]

Zenjoy.

Paul.

This one is today's last. It's almost midnight here and have to go to work tomorrow.

Ferberite pseudomorph after scheelite from Hingston Down quarry : [www.mindat.org]

Zenjoy and good night.

Paul.

Here is an old time calcite group from egremont. x - Bement coll. 11.7 cm. - Brad.

Ludlamite crystals on tan siderite crystals. From Wheal Jane, Kea, Cornwall (the type locality). 4.5 cm.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2012 01:22AM by Woody Thompson.

Time for some more fluorite. This one, with sphalerite and minor siderite came from the Beaumont (Allenheads) Mine, East Allendale, Northumberland. Recovered around 1970 during British Steel's ill-fated attempt to reopen the mine for fluorspar. 10 cm across.

Hello Everyone, wonderful thread and equally wonderful specimens. Some truly exceptional ones.

Well these certainly would not qualify as "The Best" of anything but they are special to me. It was really hard deciding on which of my British subjects was my favourite as they are all pretty royal in my eyes. Today I will post 2 of them as I could not decide on just one and not sure when I will get another chance to post more.

How can one not cherish the flint from Dover? So iconic.

Quartz var Flint (nodule with chalky coating)
Dover, Kent, England, UK
Approx 6cm x 4cm



And yet more fluorite, this time it's Blue John. I saw a fabulous piece on display at the University of Waterloo Earth Science Museum, but I didn't have my camera with me that day. If it is still on display when I go back I will try to get a good photo and upload it.
This is just a small representative slice which shows the typical banding for which Blue John is known and I was pretty pleased to get it as it is rather hard to come by for a reasonable price with good banding.

Fluorite var Blue John
Treak Cliff Cavern, Castleton, Derbyshire, England, UK
Slice approx 3.2cm x 2.8cm