Witherite

$400.00

$40.00 shipping
Seller offers an extended return window of up to 30 days
Ships from USA

A rich small cabinet specimen of the rare barium carbonate Witherite from Fallowfield mine accompanied by an extremely old German label describing it as Barytocalcite from Aldstone Moor [Alston Moor]. The entire specimen is composed of colourless to dirty white Witherite as a massive core covered with well-developed hexagonal prismatic crystals measuring up to almost 3 cm long and is clearly not Barytocalcite. Another clue is faint writing on the specimen recording "Hexam", the village/town near to Fallowfield mine. The old label is probably mid-nineteenth century when specimens from Alston Moor and Hexam often got confused. Witherite was discovered at Fallowfield mine during the 1820s and Barytocalcite was discovered at Blagill, near Alston during the 1830s. The specimen itself also carries a collection-aged patina with the appearance of an old time specimen. Ex Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021) collection.