Hardin County Fluorite |
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Hardin County, Illinois has a long history of producing some of the worlds finest fluorite specimens. There were many mines in the Southern Illinois/Northern Kentucky area but 3 mines became very famous to Rockhounds due to the many forms of fluorite found there. The three best known mines are the Minerva Mine which was sunk in 1942 and is 680 feet deep. The Denton Mine is 640 feet deep and was put into operation in 1981 while the Anna Belle Lee Mine was brought on line in 1984 at a depth of nearly 1,000 feet. Due to the tilt or dip of the rock units, some places in the mines are 1200 to 1300 feet below the surface. These mines have been closed for some time now. Although we hear that there is a mining company boring a new mine, we have seen no fluorite from that location as of yet. Fluorite is a widespread and common mineral. It often occurs as a primary mineral in veins or as a mix of lead, zinc and silver ores. Fluorite is also found in sedimentary rocks such as limestones and dolomites as well as in igneous rocks such as granites. Fluorite occurs commonly as cubic, octahedral and dodecahedral crystals in many different colors ranging from colorless and completely transparent to yellow, green, blue, purple, pink or black. Crystals may be large and penetration twins are fairly common. “Hoppered” specimens are in great demand. Fluorite should glow blue or violet in SW or MW ultraviolet light. |
| Rare!!! Large Old Stock “Light Purple” Fluorite from the Cave-in-Rock District IL This great piece is a large Old Stock Specimen of Yellow Fluorite with distinct Purple Fluorite banding. The result is a specimen that looks light purple. This piece is nicely hoppered with slight to minimal damage to surfaces…an excellent large cabinet display piece! These are the favored specimens of collectors. Most of the fluorites that came from the Cave in the Rock area are much smaller, normally about 2 to 3 inches maximum because they were smuggled out of the mines in lunchboxes or pockets. The large specimens like this are extremely rare and highly in demand. These are all part of 40 to 60 year old collections from when the mines first opened. This one was collected in the Cave-In-Rock District of Southern Illinois back in the 1960's..... It weighs in at 4 pounds and measures 18 by 13 by 8 cm... The back side displays Calcite and Dark Purple Fluorite.... |
| Item# HCF0209002 Old Stock 3.3" Honey and Purple Fluorite from Cave-in-Rock $52.00 |
| Excellent "Old Stock" display of that famous Honey and Purple Cave-in-Rock fluorite from Hardin County Illinois. This piece has minor chips on crystal edges but is an excellent sample. It has crystals in honey to light puprle to dark purple, a very nice color specimen. This display weighs 0.52 lbs (235g) and measures 3.3 x 2.4 x 1.5 inches (84 x 61 x 38mm) |
Item# HCF0209001 Large Old Stock 4lb Yellow and Purple Hardin County Fluorite $179.00 |