DALLAS, TX.- Pre-auction estimates were smashed as swarms of collectors went after 322 specimens from the estate of one of the most legendary mineral collectors of the last 50 years, driving the results for Heritage Auctions’ Rock H. Currier Collection of Fine Minerals Auction to $3,403,406 Aug. 26 in Dallas.

The sale, held in a packed auction room after a heavily attended preview, boasted a 100% sell-through rate by value and by lots sold, which is virtually unheard of in the category. The auction celebrated the lifelong passion of Currier, who spent a lifetime traveling the world collecting minerals for his business and for his extraordinary personal collection.

“The auction was a stellar success, and Heritage Nature & Science was pleased to honor the memory of the legendary, larger-than-life figure who meant so much to the mineral collecting community,” Heritage Auctions Nature & Science Director Craig Kissick said. “The support and enthusiasm of collectors and dealers alike confirmed Currier’s significance and the impact he had on the hobby.

“The exceptional prices realized for all specimens across the board, coupled with the 100% sell-through rate put this auction in a league of its own.”

The sale’s top lot was a Topaz from the Xanda Mine, Virgem da Lapa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, which inspired 21 bidders before claiming top-lot honors at $200,000, more than tripling its high pre-auction estimate. The massive seven-pound specimen is a transcendent museum-quality piece that has universal appeal because of its exceptional size, form and color.

Quartz var. Amethyst with Epitaxial Amethyst & Goethite on Calcite “Skunk” from the Andre Jachetti Mine in Artigas, Uruguay inspired more than a dozen bidders before it closed at $187,500. The one-time cover piece of Rocks & Minerals magazine includes a 35-centimeter curved plate of dark Amethyst crystals and a 12-centimeter pale yellow brown scalenohedral Calcite crystal with black Goethite stripes.

Another prize that crushed its pre-auction estimate was a Dioptase & Wulfenite from the Mammoth-St Anthony Mine, St. Anthony Deposit in Arizona, which inspired 14 bidders before it realized $100,000, against a pre-auction estimate of $2,500-3,500.

Native Silver & Calcite Kongsberg Ag Mining District, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway nearly tripled its high pre-auction estimate when it brought $81,250. The four-inch cluster features intertwined Silver wires growing on Calcite. Once a part of the Bryn Mawr Collection, this specimen is one of the Kongsberg Silvers that are considered one of the top five minerals in terms of collector recognition and desirability.

Multiple bidders drove the final result for a Leadhillite from the Mammoth-St Anthony Mine, St. Anthony Deposit, Tiger, Mammoth District, Pinal Co., Arizona to $75,000, nearly 10 times the high pre-auction estimate. This exceptionally rare specimen was one of the best ever found at Tiger, according to Currier.

A Stephanite & Polybasite from the Chispas Mine, Arizpe, Mun. de Arizpe, Sonora, Mexico drew $75,000, against a pre-auction estimate of $12,000-18,000. Acquired by Currier in a trade with Yale University, the sample includes a cluster of black Stephanite crystals with smaller wheels of Polybasite in association, creating a specimen that left Currier “blown away” when he saw it.

Other top lots included, but were not limited to:

• Leadhillite, Cerussite & Wulfenite from the Mammoth-St Anthony Mine, St. Anthony Deposit, Tiger, Mammoth District, Pinal Co., Arizona ($62,500).

• Microcline var. Amazonite & Quartz, from 20 km South of Konso, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Ethiopia ($62,500).

• Azurite Copper Queen Mine, Queen Hill, Bisbee, Warren District, Mule Mts, Cochise Co., Arizona ($60,000).

• Native Silver Michigan ($57,500).

The auction was the second Heritage Auctions sale in the last two weeks that claimed 100% sell-through rates. The Glynn and Suzanne Crain Science Fiction Collection Auction more than doubled its $993,375 pre-sale estimate when every lot sold Aug. 13-14.