DALLAS, TX.- The interest and value of most collectibles increase significantly for items that have been kept as part of important or significant collections, the knowledge and reputation of owners offering an endorsement of validation.

Even better are those lots that have been in multiple top collections.

Such is the case with a magnificent Smithsonite that will be among the top attractions in Heritage’s Collection of Bruce Carter Fine Minerals Signature®Auction May 16.

“Bruce Carter’s collection is among the finest ever to come to auction,” says Nic Valenzuela, Heritage’s Director of Fine Minerals. “He has a very good eye for aesthetics, understands the significance of minerals and has assembled a trove of incredible specimens that will make great additions to any cabinet.”

Not only is the Smithsonite among the headlining items in Carter’s collection, but it also previously was housed in the collection of Steve Smale, a famous and highly esteemed mathematician and minerals collector. This needle-like stunner, from the renowned Tsumeb Mine in Namibia, measures 5.1 inches (13.0 cm) in length. Smithsonite specimens of this style only were found in one pocket on the 34th level of the renowned mine. Not only is it from the only source pocket in an important mine, but it is exceptionally rare, with only 8-10 specimens showing any crystals of significant size, and of those, two found their way to the Smithsonian Institution.

Also sure to draw ample interest is an extraordinary Rhodochrosite with Tetrahedrite from the Good Luck Pocket in the famed Sweet Home Mine in Park County, Colorado. Very few locations throughout the Sweet Home Mine come close to the same level of reverence as the Good Luck Pocket, which has produced some of the best American Rhodochrosite specimens. The offered specimen’s immense size aside, the crystal is highly transparent all throughout and saturated with an intense cherry-red hue in a display amplified through the glassy luster and smoother faces on the specimen’s front and side faces. In addition to its stunningly rich, red hue, the appeal of this magnificent crystal is magnified by the presence of a crusting of Tetrahedrite, the dark minerals that boost the contrast and frame the exterior.

One highlight that will shimmer in the spotlight at the auction is a Native Gold epimorph after Quartz and Ankerite. It comes from the Idaho Gold Mine in Kalgoorlie-Boulder Shire in Western Australia, a source that is among the more obscure mining localities in Australia’s historic “Golden Mile.” This exceptional specimen of Native Gold weighs a remarkable 156.4 grams and measures 2.28 inches (5.8 cm) in length. Unlike more traditional nuggets, the Gold in this specimen is epimorphed, having formed around associations of Quartz and Ankerite, which have since been removed — which is an exceedingly rare process with Gold. The Gold is left with several distinct rhombohedral impressions from the Ankerite and accenting dendritic foliage along the specimen’s outer edges, likely where it weaved about an amorphous Quartz matrix. Epimorphed specimens of Native Gold are incredibly rare — especially those that hail from the Idaho Gold Mine.

A Heliodor from Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine, is a phenomenal floater crystal from the world-famous finds in Volodarsk. Measuring 5.98 inches (15.2 cm) in length, and weighing in at 281.6 grams, it offers extraordinary aesthetic appeal, thanks to its gem-clear interior that gives its golden-yellow hue, accented with green undertones, a watery appearance. Characteristic of the locality, each of the prismatic faces is fully covered in deep, highly geometric etched patterns that flash from every angle with a glass-like brilliance. The peak of the crystal boasts a tapered, slope-like termination that is quite uncommon for the locality, and the sides are lined with exceptional etching. Ukrainian Heliodors are among the most recognizable for this variety of Beryl and became an instant classic after they first emerged from the finds in the mid-1980s.

Also offered is a stunning Fluorite with Hematite on Calcite. Fluorites are known to come in a wide range of colors and crystal habits, with a handful of localities producing specimens that have a comparatively unusual spheroidal shape enclosed within. The Mahodari Quarry is known for producing stunning yellow, translucent botryoides of Fluorite. An extremely small percentage will be tinted red by Hematite, of which few come remotely close to the size and aesthetics of the specimen offered in this auction. Framed beautifully within a siliceous, Quartz-lined vug are several textbook Fluorite botryoides, measuring up to a jaw-dropping 3.5 centimeters in diameter, presented atop a sizable, isolated group of terminated Calcite crystals. Smaller botryoides of Fluorite are interspersed around the more substantial spheres and splendidly outline the Calcite’s scalenohedral silhouette.

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

• A Jeremejevite from Namibia’s Erongo Region
• An Ajoite in Quartz with Hematite, Copper, Chlorite and Cuprite Inclusionsfrom the Artonvilla Mine in Limpopo, South Africa
• A Columbite-(Fe) that once was part of the Peter Bancroft Collection
• An Azurite on Malachite from the Milpillas Mine in Sonora, Mexico
• A Euclase, Albite and Schorl from the Chiá Mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil
• A Wulfenite on Mimetite from Chihuahua, Mexico