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Over 200 colorful minerals will hit the auction block on March 20 as part of Heritage’s The Collection of William and Ruth Loomis Fine Minerals Signature® Auction. What started as a shared hobby evolved into a lifelong passion that soon will be offered to mineral collectors everywhere. Soon after marrying in 1987, the pair opened Loomis Minerals in Flagstaff, Arizona, which became the hub for their finds.
“William and Ruth Loomis dedicated much of their adult lives to building this enticing collection, and their vast knowledge shines through in the lots that will cross the block in this auction,” Nic Valenzuela, Heritage’s Director of Fine Minerals, said in a statement. “This presents an opportunity to bid on some exceptional minerals from some of the most important mines around the world.”
Check out some of the items up for bid below. (Click to expand images to full screen.)
This aquamarine with muscovite was found in Nagar District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is roughly the size of a cabinet and is largely composed of one massive crystal with a glassy luster and vibrant sky blue zoning and shiny bladed muscovite associations. Image: Heritage Auctions.Native gold from the Harvard Mine in the Jamestown District in Tuolumne County, California. This mine was among the first to be discovered in 1848, at the beginning of the American Gold Rush. Despite their rarity, when compared to the gold found in nuggets or veins, crystallized gold specimens often have a level of history and even aesthetics that go beyond their bullion value. This particular piece is 3.66 inches long and presented against a white quartz to contrast with its yellow color. Image: Heritage Auctions.This colorful elbaite (tourmaline) and quartz comes from Paprok, Afghanistan. The main focus of this particular specimen is a single immense, heavily striated, prismatic crystal that rises to a complex termination and is partially wreathed by striking parallel growths. This crystal is polychromatic, showing vibrant layers of deep red and pink that are topped by yellow, grass-green and blue-green zoning. Image: Heritage Auctions. This zincite is from Silesian Voivodeship in Poland and is 12 inches long in each direction. Zincite rarely occurs as crystallized examples in nature, apart from at a couple of localities. Similar to other zincites found throughout Poland’s various zinc smelting sites, this piece was found lining the interior of the smelter’s smokestack. Most of the hexagonal crystals are arranged in a jackstraw cluster of needle-shaped growths that come to very thin points. Image: Heritage Auctions.Opalized wood from Virgin Valley in Humboldt County, Nevada. It’s 12.68 inches long and boasts an extremely colorful field of opal, showing large swatches of violet, blue, and green that cover most of the piece. Image: Heritage Auctions.The auction includes 20 tourmalines, including this tourmaline with lepidolite and smoky quartz from Paprok in the Kamdesh District in Nuristan, Afghanistan. It’s 7.64 inches long and has a large tourmaline crystal joined by dense clusters of lepidolite and associations of smoky quartz. It’s pink hue that is most intense at its core. Image: Heritage AuctionsThis schorl with goshenite comes from the Erongo Mountains in Namibia. It’s 4.45 inches long, and its schorl crystals intertwine in every direction. Hexagonal crystals of goshenite—a colorless variety of beryl—are also all over the mineral helping contrast with the black. Image: Heritage Auctions.
Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/8244.
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