FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[trtlman]

I am working on an art project and I need some pictures of specimens that are either famous, historic, well known or just an exceptional find. I need about 10-20 specimens but don't stop at that name all you can. If you have links to the specimen that would work great or if the specimen has a name you can just give me that and I can look them up. I tried to browse through the museum and mineral show posts on here but there are tons of posts and haven't found too much to use. I will continue my search on here but also any help you guys can offer would be most appreciated. I need their dimensions as well and would prefer ones that are larger, a foot or more, 6 inches at the very least. Also the locality in which they were found. Thank you.

[Tobi]

I would recommend some really exceptional rhodochrosites from Sweet Home Mine:

"Big Red": It was in the collection of Keith Proctor (or still is?)
"Alma Queen": Houston Museum of Natural Science
"Alma King": Denver Museum of Natural History
"Alma Rose": Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals

(If you google this specimens, you will find information and pictures ... but don't forget to consider the copyright)

You can find many more exceptional specimens in the forum thread about the collections of Adalberto Giazotto, one of the most precious and exceptional mineral collections in the world: https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=762

[trtlman]

Thanks for the link and the mineral names

[James Catmur]

You can add (if you want another one)

"Empress of China" rhodocrosite

[Carl]

When I think of iconic mineral specimens, several at the Smithsonian come to mind. Here are three:

The "Steamboat" elbaite tourmaline on quartz, Tourmaline Queen Mine, California

The "Candelabra" elbaite on quartz from the same location

Millerite, Sterling Mine, Antwerp, New York from the Washington Roebling collection

[Tobi]