Mineral Specimen  #200 Celestine

Yate, Chipping Sodbury District, South Gloucestershire (Bristol, Avon), England
Ex. H. Westenberger

This is an incredibly nice Celestine specimen composed of multiple parallel crystals with beveled edges from a classic location. The specimen is water clear with no damage other than the edge of attachment and internal fractures. It comes from a location once famous for Celestine production for strontium. Celestine was mined from as early as 1820 until April 1991 with the heaviest production in the late 1800s. At one time, 90% of the world's Celestine was mined at Yate (see http://www.yateheritage.co.uk/history-of-yate/beneath-our-feet.htm). When exactly this specimen was mined is unknown. The label from the Westenberger collection lists a year of 1964. Whether this is when the mineral was mined or purchased is unknown. Both sides of the specimen are depicted in the following photos.

6.0 x 5.1 x 0.7 cm

$200                                                                                                                                                                                                            200-299