Detailed information
Dimensions
60 x 55 x 53
mm
Weight
28 g
Locality
Alston Moor Eden, Cumbria England
Condition
No recorded repairs
This is a classic Cumbrian Aragonite, but contrary to its original German label it is not from Alston Moor, but much further west in Cumbria. Historically, during the 19th century, the town of Alston was a centre for mineral dealing with specimens being sold from local mines but also from further afield too, and so when specimens arrived from miners working in the west of the county they often got sold on as from "Alston" or "Alston Moor". Featuring a fine, 5.5 cm long, very glossy, tapering Aragonite crystal attached to the end of an aggregate of similar, but more bladed Aragonite crystals there is scope for potential trimming. The main crystal is missing the very end of its termination, but this is not immediately evident, requiring magnification to be seen, and is a good size. All of the Aragonite crystals sit upon a corroded brown Dolomite matrix and the translucent Aragonite crystals all contain distinctive microscopic golden-brown 'star-bursts' of probable Goethite which might aid narrowing down it provenance. It is from the superb collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).