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910  Copper (spinel twin) New Cornelia Mine (Ajo Mine), Ajo, Little Ajo Mts, Ajo District, Pima Co., Arizona, USA miniature 4.5 x 2.5 x 2.3 cm ex. Frank M. Valenzuela First, it's a great spinel-twinned copper crystal, from a great Americal locality. In particular, I love the patina, and the sharpness. I first spied this crystal on the shelves of miner/collector/dealer Frank Valenzuela's cabinet in his home in a small town (Oracle? San Manual?) north of Tucson during the 2009 Tucson gem and Mineral shows. I was with my parents and our freinds Jack Halpern and Carolyn Manchester, at Frank's invitation. Mr. Valenzuala had built an impressive collection of Mexican and Southwestern American minerals during a long career as a miner on both sides of the border. In the years immediately following, he would be known for handlng a large part of the flood of amazing Azurite specimens pouring forth from the Milpillas mine. The visit was great. In addition to this copper souvenier, Frank was very kind and gave me a nice Rhodochrosite specimen from a locality in Mexico I did not have in the collection. Jack made us all laugh when, among many flats of Azurites he'd asked to see, he zeroed in on one he really liked. Upon closer scrutiny, Jack's own specimen number was found on the back, and his label in the box. (It had previous been in Jack's collection, of course). That speak volumes about Jack's eye as a collector. The coup de grace making it a great mineral day was Carolyn's pick, a beautiful odd Arizona psuedomorph, that Senior Valenzuala expressed no desire to sell, explaining that Evan Jones had coveted it, too. "No, that one is not really for sale." Carolyn's lightening response was a number in five figures, and it took Frank about two seconds before Frank says "Well, OK". That was a wonderful day. Before the year ended, my father's cancer, which, on that day, we had every reason to hope and believe was gone for good, would return, and take him from us. I harbor a storng suspicion that the fleetingness of time is, ultimately, an illusion, and that every "moment" that ever "was" or "will be", is, in fact, eternal Though this will always be impossible for us, embeddied in it, to see.) Every time I see this copper crystal, I will be reminded that this wonderful day ever was, ever is, and ever will-be. label Mineral Occurances
label created: 2009-07-11 17:36:36; modified: 2015-05-25 18:06:28 |
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