Fluorite with phantoms

An antique Illinois fluorite, this came from the earliest finds of fine fluorite to reach the specimen market and the first major named collector of this material who started bringing it out in the 1960s. The video speaks for itself - this is a classic, multicolored, zoned, phantom cluster of crystals to 2 inches (5 cm) on edge. It is complete, except for one corner in the top right, which has an approximately 7 mm corner restoration visible only under UV light. The piece was purchased by Cliff Kreuger from legendary Midwest dealer and collector, Rex Bannister, at Tucson in 1977. At the time, $100 for a modest fluorite was a lot and shows you what Rex thought of it as a direct source to the miners in the day! His old dealer label is included. When Cliff passed away in the San Francisco area, his friend, Jack Halpern, had first choice from the collection and bought dozens of specimens, including this one. Cliff, who had a fantastic collection specializing in cabinet specimens, passed on many to Jack; there it has been for the last 20 years or so.