Calcite from Sweetwater Mine, Missouri, USA

Calcite with Pyrite

By far my favourite crystal structure is that of the scalenohedral structure. I searched long and hard for a calcite where the crystals are aligned so that they are sitting on a matrix and all pointing in the same direction to really give it the "dogtooth" calcite vibe.

Well I finally found one and I love it. This guy comes from the well known Sweetwater mine in Reynolds County, Missouri. There are other calcite crystals on the piece other than the main 4, as well as balls of pyrite spread around (mostly on the bottom).

Although there are definitely finer, clearer and larger calcite crystals from this locality, the structure of this piece is what makes it so special.

Nik Stang personal collection