Montebrasite

Unknown Owner

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Collected shortly after the famous blue-green tourmaline pocket, this is yet another abberrant, incredible find for the locality, but one of which I was completely ignorant until now. In 1974, Bob Whitmore collected a small pocket hosting several crystals of Montebrasite, such as this one (it still has pocket clay attached, not yet cleaned stark white with acids). These crystals have to rank as the best for a US locality, and I do not think were superceded until Brazilian material came out some years later. This is the best miniature in the collection, although a shockingly large, equally sharp and well terminated crystal of 12 cm also was present in the collection. That larger one is now in the Smithsonian Collection, so this fine miniature is in good company. According to Dr. Vandall King, these are now classified as Montebrasite, though Whitmore's label from 30 years ago notes it as Amblygonite.