At our Spring shows we will be featuring Beryl, variety Morganite. Beryl comes in several varieties such as Aquamarine, Emerald, Heliodor and Red Beryl, colored by different impurities but with the same chemical formula. The cabinet specimen shown here has five sharp hexagonal crystals. We have specimens priced from the upper hundreds to many thousand dollars.

Hyalite Opal (now properly labeled Opal-AN) from world localities has been around for years, I even collected in in North Carolina as a beginning dealer!  Fine examples are found from time to time  in Mexico and I had the opportunity to high-grade a superior lot.  Below are two photos of the same specimen in SW UV and Daylight with my hand for size reference. The specimens are rosettes and cups of transparent colorless opal on chalcedony. I have miniature to cabinet-size specimens that are fine in their own right, but also have wonderful fluorescence.  Some are on display at the Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery and I'll also have some at my Spring shows

Opal-AN (Hyalite Opal) from near Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

​I have a nice lot of Chrysoberyl, variety Alexandrite, from Zimbabwe. Most are sharp thumbnail sixlings but there are a few miniatures. Their first public outing was in Tucson where thumbnail collectors grabbed several. I'll have more in Plano, though. They show nice color change and some translucency. We have also added Alexandrites fro Brazil that are associated with emeralds.​








               




                     On the left are photos of a large thumbnail and on the right is a miniature and a close-up of its top.

                                             The pairs are show the color change in LED white and Tungsten light.


We were so busy in Tucson with our (too) many locations that we had very little time to shop. The one day Cal and I were able out, we found a Brazilian emerald miner who had encountered a small area of Alexandites in his mine. We purchased all he had! They required a lot of specialized cleaning, but they are ready now. There is even a small-cabinet specimen with embedded emerald crystals. I'll post some photos soon.​​​

Jan-Feb 2024                                                            Mar-Apr 2004

​​                            My galleries show specimens that are currently available for purchase.

      I advertise regularly in Rocks & Minerals and sometimes in the The Mineralogical Record and other publications. My ads show either exceptional specimens from my inventory or excellent specimens that coordinate with articles in the current issue. Please support these journals with your subscription, if you don't already. It will enhance your mineral knowledge. You can contact them at www.tandfonline.com/vram and www.MineralogicalRecord.org. I know that most serious collectors take the MR but I'm surprised at how many do not subscribe to R&M. If you haven't for a while, you should give it another look, over the past decades it has become a very good publication, frequently rivaling the MR for content and it is often more readable for non-scientists. Let me know if my encouragement caused you to subscribe and I'll credit you with your first-year subscription amount on your next mineral specimen purchase of over $200.

      Here are my recent and current Rocks and Minerals ads.  The featured specimens were available at the time the ad was submitted, unless they show lab jobs I have done for others. However, specimens often sell prior to the magazine's publication due to the long lead time for ad submissions. But, it never hurts to ask if they are still available. Predicting when a specimen will sell is impossible!

                    Note that because ads must be submitted months in advance, show information might have changed.

Specimen Galleries

Leonard Himes     Dealer in Fine Mineral Specimens

American locality specimens are my favorites. I was working in my storage areas and came a cross the remains  (pretty nice ones)  of a large purchase Cal and I made when the Philadelphia Academy collection was disbursed. Here are some of the classic pieces we have for sale. These are excellent quality and very hard to come by, particularly with he museums display labels. ​I remind you that my labels are 2 inches wide at the borders, for a size  reference. 

Here are some photos of classics from the Robert and Nan Smith collection. We have placed specimens in many good homes as the owners wished.  We have had the collection on consignment for nearly five years and it is now time to return the unsold specimens.

 

These and more from their collection will be available at our 2024 Spring shows at 40% discount off their five year old prices.


​Note that my labels are 2 inches wide for size reference.

        Contact me directly to learn more about available specimens. I have many more specimens than can be shown here, so if you are seeking something in particular, ask. I often have other specimens of the species shown, but in different sizes and prices. I enjoy getting to know my customers and believe that learning about you and your collection will help me find specimens that will enhance your collection.
        I accept PayPal, credit cards, and checks on US banks. Payment is required prior to shipping. Insured shipping within the US is free. Prompt insured returns of unaltered specimens (at your expense) will result in full immediate refunds. Due to current transportation problems, we are not shipping out of North America at this time.
       Cabinet specimens are larger than fit into a 5-inch cube. Small cabinets (s-cab) are under the 5-inch cube but larger than miniature. Miniatures (min) fit within a 2-inch cube,  Toenails fit within a 1.5-inch cube, and Thumbnails (TN) fit within a 1-inch cube.
       Many of my best specimens come with custom bases by The Sunnywood Collection, the industry standard. For information about having your collection mounted contact them at www.sunnywood.com