Richard here from Mineral of the Month Club with information on our February 2012 featured mineral, Muscovite with Fluorite from a new find in the White Mountains, Inyo County, California.
We're sending you this Email way ahead of time, as we do every January, because we leave for the big Tucson Show next Sunday the 22nd, and we want to put together as many as possible of your orders prior to leaving. So if you could get back to me at your earliest convenience after reading this, it would be much appreciated. If your circumstances don't allow you to get back this week, Cheyenne will be here to pick your specimen and send it out to you after we leave on Sunday.
Tucson 2012 should be exciting (and exhausting) as always! We've lined up a number of large lots of minerals to examine with a view to featuring this year, and will no doubt pick up some smaller lots of new finds and minerals we've featured in the past for future Offer sheets. And you're welcome to send us your wish list to take with us--you never know what we might come across while we're there!
We're also excited about this month's mineral, a new find! It was made by collectors who had read about the site in an old thesis, and decided to see what treasures the site might yield. On the first trip, they came across a few excellent specimens of unusual composite specimens consisting of pink crystals of the Clinothulite variety of Clinozoisite, with purple Fluorite, and green Phlogopite mica. The collectors eagerly brought their specimens to Dr. Anthony Kampf, curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Dr. Kampf analyzed the specimens and confirmed the identity of the minerals. Only a few of these composite specimens were collected, and we are offering them towards the end of this Email.
On their next trip to the White Mountains locality, just a few feet away from their original find, the collectors found evidence of a completely different mineralogical environment containing different minerals! This was where and when our composite Muscovite-Fluorite specimens were dug, so to mark the occasion we put together a Special Section in the write-up on this phenomenon: "Mineral Occurrences: So Near, Yet So Different." The collectors plan on returning and surveying the area, hoping they may find additional rare minerals, and if circumstances permit it, I would love to join them!
Although Muscovite and Fluorite are fairly common minerals, it's unusual to find them together like this, and collectors who have seen these pieces have been very enthusiastic about them--not so much because of their beauty, but more so because of the unique combination. The write-up has all the details about this unique find, and we'll be happy to send it to you if you decide to order a specimen this month. Here is the link to February's Offer Sheet: February 2012 Offer Sheet
Our specimens consists of aggregates of small, thin, tough, elastic Muscovite plates, all aligned parallel to the cleavage planes. They are shiny, smooth, vitreous-to-pearly surfaces of a silver to gray to grayish-white color, mixed in with transparent, colorless and purple Fluorite crystals, as seen in the attached photos. Some specimens also contain translucent milky crystals or masses of Quartz. We grouped them according to how much Fluorite they contain, and their size.
As always, we have Gold-level Muscovite with Fluorite pieces available for $26.50. They are about 2.5" by 1.5" to 3" by 2" and slightly larger in size with lesser amounts of the purple Fluorite.
Group 1 Muscovite with Fluorite are larger and better than Gold-level pieces, about 3.5" by 2.5" to 4.5" by 3" for $35, $40, $45, $50, $55, and $60, according to quality.
Group 2 Muscovite with Fluorite have the most purple Fluorite. They are about 3.5" by 2.5" to 4" to 2.5" across for $75, $80, $85, and $90. And we have a few larger, showier pieces about 4" by 3" to 4" by 4" and slightly larger for $115 and $125.
COMPOSITE CLINOTHULITE-FLUORITE-PHLOGOPITE. These are from the original find, with small pink crystals of the very rare Clinozoisite variety Clinothulite, crystals of colorless and purple Fluorite, and green Phlogopite mica, as seen in the photo below. We have only about 15 of these, and if you want one of these and one of the other pieces, we will discount the lower-priced piece by 10%. Because of their rarity and desirability, pieces about 3" by 3" go for $125 and $140, while larger pieces about 4" by 2.5" to 4" by 4" are available for $200, $225, and $250.
And we have a few pieces about 2.5" by 1.5" to 3" by 1.5" with just the Clinothulite and purple Fluorite for $70 and $85. Please let me know what you'd like to order, or if you wish to pass on this month's offering. It's great if you can list a second choice in case your first choice is already gone. Feel free to call us at 1-800-941-5594 if you have any questions or wish to order by phone. Thank you so much!
Richard
Mineral of the Month Club
1770 Orville Ave
Cambria, CA 93428
805-927-2223
Richard@mineralofthemonthclub.org
www.mineralofthemonthclub.org 
|
