Fluorite on Quartz, Sub-Rosiclare Level, Deardorff Mine, Ozark-Mahoning Company, Cave-in-Rock District, Southern Illinois Medium cabinet 5 x 10.5 x 16 cm $4500. Online 3/13 SOLD.
NSMW11730
White drusy quartz matrix covered with abundant fluorite crystals ranging in size from about 0.5-1.5 cm on edge. The fluorite is light yellow in the center with light grape-purple rims and has good medium luster. Note the matrix with dark blackish-gray spots of silicified limestone within quartz as classic from the ore body. The Deardorff Mine was the richest in Cave-in-Rock but unfortunately was exploited in an era too early for good specimen preservation protocol. As a result, fine specimens like this piece are exceedingly rare especially in such high quality condition. Mined c. 1940s-1950s. Provenance: Roy Smith Collection M1931 (likely acquired from Jim Fecho of Fiddler's Ridge Rock shop near Effingham, IL c. 1960s); to Ross C. Lillie RCL2435; to Steve Maslansky M807; to Ross C. Lillie.