Spodumene

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A magnificent and rare example of a well terminated Spodumene crystal from the historic Walnut Hill Pegmatite prospect at Huntington (formerly Norwich) in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA. The specimen is accompanied with a mid 19th century, 9.5 x 8 cm, detailed handwritten label, on which is a beautifully drawn illustration of the crystal with annotated prism faces marked on. Interestingly, the locality is recorded on the label as Norwich, the name for the town of Huntington prior to 1855, hence indicating the label is at least around 170 years old. The Spodumene crystal measures an impressive 8.5 x 3.5 x 2.0 cm and is an unusual pinkish tan with a satin lustre. It is attached along it back face to a fragment of pegmatite matrix. Good crystals of Spodumene (i.e. not including its gem varieties Hiddenite and Kunzite) are rare and only tend to feature in old museum collections.