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Reference Specimens
The Folch Collection

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Photos by Fabre Minerals. Under Creative Commons license

This page provides a selection of the specimensthat were in the Folch Collection that have passed through the Fabre Minerals website and, due to their quality,
rarity, or significance as specimens from interesting locations, have been preserved as reference specimens in #MVM
We hope that you enjoy your visit, even if it is just to see this page!

Carles Curto Text: Carles Curto (former Geology Museum, Barcelona curator) & Jordi Fabre
Assistance from John S. White (former Smithsonian curator) John S. White

 


The Folch Collection

The Folch Collection was known during the period 1960-1980 as one of the best private collections in the world. It was famous worldwide for its size (more than 15,000 specimens), the quality of the specimens, the large number of classic specimens which are now almost impossible to obtain, and the style of the collection, which is surprisingly 'modern'. Sr. Folch (Joaquín Folch Girona) collected during a period when the style of most collectors in Europe consisted of gathering large specimens of rare minerals, and in which esthetics and perfection were not that important. That said he actually tended to collect smaller specimens that were esthetic and, when possible, damage free. On the death of Sr. Folch, in 1984, the collection passed to his son Alberto, and when he in turn died it went to his grandson Joaquín Folch who wisely decided to keep the collection exactly as his grandfather had it (including the display cases). So the collection was kept together and its enormous historical value has not been lost.

While I was a teenager I had the luck to have been warmly invited by Sr. Folch to visit the collection. I made numerous visits, and with him beside me I obtained an enormous amount of mineralogical information which went far beyond what I would have learned anywhere else. Given this experience I have always had a strong connection with the collection.

During my ongoing contacts with the Folch family a moment arrived when they expressed their desire to update the collection so as to make it more current - since 1984 nothing new had been added so there was a significant gap in the minerals found since then. After lots of friendly and unhurried discussions the Folch family asked me to help them with this updating process. To do this we had the good fortune that the collection included many attractive duplicates. These duplicates do not add much to the Folch collection, as there are other examples of all of them, but given their unusual localities and/or high quality they still represent good commercial specimens.

So, for the first time, some of the duplicate specimens from the Folch Collection are emerging into the sunlight. Each one of them has hand written notes made by Sr. Folch himself as well as, in many cases, his personal label and number (in the case that they were part of the major collection). The duplicates will be sold during the shows that we normally attend, and also through our web site and store in Barcelona (you need to arrange a visit beforehand, which we will try to find a way of accommodating visitors)

This project will take us a long time, as the specimens available are numerous and neither the family nor I wish to make the choices too quickly. The idea is to work slowly and select the pieces in a very systematic and careful manner. We think that given the special characteristics of the specimens that will be available and their historical value this will be a great chance for many collectors to obtain pieces that would otherwise have remained pure dreams.

We hope that little by little we can satisfy all those that wish to acquire a duplicate from the Folch collection and we can assure them that this task will give us far more pleasure than simple economic benefits. Sr. Folch was my spiritual father in mineralogical terms so handling his minerals and helping to improve his collection with new purchases is a fantastic sensation for me because the profits gained from the sale of these duplicates are used to acquire more contemporary specimens, thus satisfying the family's desire to update the collection.

I cannot thank the Folch family enough for their good faith and for their wish to improve the collection. They are helped by the undeniable support and enthusiasm of Francisco Riquelme, the current conservator of the collection, and between them they have taken a step that many people have wished them to take and that will give great joy to collectors worldwide, as well as increasing interest in and knowledge of the Folch collection in Spain and the rest of the world.

 


1926: Mineralogical Society, Jubilee Celebration.
Sr. Folch is the third from the right in the first row on foot

 

 

 


Sr. Folch holding an Apatite from Panasqueira

 

 

 

 

Typical handwritten labels from the Folch Collection
 



Typical record from the Folch Collection
 

Canada

Diopside with Calcite
Diopside with Calcite. Front
Front		Diopside with Calcite. Top
Top
Diopside with Calcite  

RA16M3: Group of light green prismatic Diopside crystals on a Calcite matrix and with Mica crystals.
This sample was from Scott J. Williams of Scottsdale (Arizona). The piece is accompanied by the Williams label and card Nr. 5244 from the Folch Collection which we’ll send to the buyer.
Bird's Creek, Bancroft district, Hastings County, Ontario  Canada (±1960)

Specimen size: 5.1 × 4.9 × 3.1 cm = 2.01” × 1.93” × 1.22”

Main crystal size: 2.4 × 1.9 cm = 0.94” × 0.75”

With handwritten note & record from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Calcite minor fluorescence long & short UV
Rhodochrosite with Analcime and Aegirine
 

RM14M0: Excellent miniature. Group of rhombohedral Rhodochrosite crystals, one of them dominant, with good color and luster for this locality. With small white Analcime crystals and an Aegirine crystal centered in one face of the main Rhodochrosite crystal.
Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec  Canada (±1979)

Specimen size: 2.2 × 1.9 × 1.7 cm = 0.87” × 0.75” × 0.67”

Main crystal size: 1 × 1 cm = 0.39” × 0.39”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Rhodochrosite with Analcime and Aegirine.
NORTHERN SPAIN


Gahnite with Quartz
Gahnite with Quartz.
Gahnite with Quartz.
Gahnite with Quartz  

RE6K9: Well defined blue-grayish octahedral crystals on a Quartz matrix.
Victoria Mine, Arrés, Vall d'Aran, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 5.0 × 4.0 × 3.4 cm = 1.97” × 1.57” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 0.6 × 0.5 cm = 0.24” × 0.20”

With handwritten note & record from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Cobaltoan Calcite on Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite)
 

RC11Y9: Cobaltoan Calcite core with a very intense and deep mallow color included in a very pale green banded Calcite whose color (variety zeiringite) is due to the presence of Aurichalcite inclusions.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 4.9 × 4 × 4.4 cm = 1.93” × 1.57” × 1.73”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Calcite minor fluorescence long & short UV
Cobaltoan Calcite on Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite). Front
Front		Cobaltoan Calcite on Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite). Side
Side
Cobaltoan Calcite
Cobaltoan Calcite. Front
Front		Cobaltoan Calcite. Rear
Rear
 

RJ47W6: Translucent polished section with banded growths and nucleus of very intense color. The sample has on some of its sides the original matrix that contrasts with the deep color of the Calcite.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 11.2 × 11 × 1.8 cm = 4.41” × 4.33” × 0.71”

Minor fluorescence long & short UV

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection
Cobaltoan Calcite with Calcite and Aurichalcite
 

RG47W6: Botryoidal growths, on matrix, of translucent cobaltoan Calcite. It has a very uniform, intense and deep color and it is with yellowish globular growths of Calcite and thin surfaces of pale greenish Aurichalcite.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 11.7 × 11.4 × 7.6 cm = 4.61” × 4.49” × 2.99”

Main crystal size: 0.8 × 0.3 cm = 0.31” × 0.12”

Calcite fluorescent long & short UV

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection
Cobaltoan Calcite with Calcite and Aurichalcite. Cobaltoan Calcite with Calcite and Aurichalcite.
Cobaltoan Calcite with Calcite and Aurichalcite. Cobaltoan Calcite with Calcite and Aurichalcite.
Cobaltoan Calcite
Cobaltoan Calcite. Front
Front		Cobaltoan Calcite. Rear
Rear
Cobaltoan Calcite  

RR27V1: Banded growths of cobaltoan Calcite with a very intense color alternating with fine bands of white and yellowish Calcite. The sample, in spite its fine surface, hasn't been acid-etched, as its rough surfaces in most areas and the existence of easily altered carbonates proves.
The sample is with a card from the Folch collection (number 2052) that we'll send to the buyer.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 13.5 × 10 × 6.5 cm = 5.31” × 3.94” × 2.56”

With handwritten note & record from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Cobaltoan Calcite
 

RC98Q5: Polished section with concretionary growths with excellent color, very deep. Though we don’t usually present polished samples, in this case we made an exception because of the unusual quality of the color of the Calcite and the collection of precedence, the mine (now totally abandoned and collapsed) was precisely exploited to obtain such pieces.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (±1978)

Specimen size: 14.3 × 11.2 × 1.7 cm = 5.63” × 4.41” × 0.67”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Cobaltoan Calcite. Front
Front		Cobaltoan Calcite. Rear
Rear
Cobaltoan Calcite
Cobaltoan Calcite. Front
Front		Cobaltoan Calcite. Top
Top
Cobaltoan Calcite. Bottom
Bottom		Cobaltoan Calcite. Side
Side
Cobaltoan Calcite  

RB27AE6: Banded growths of cobaltoan Calcite with a very intense color alternating with fine bands of white and yellowish Calcite. The sample, in spite its fine surface, hasn't been acid-etched, as its rough surfaces in most areas and the existence of easily altered carbonates proves.
The sample is from the Joaquín Folch duplicates collection, whose label we’ll send to the buyer.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 14.4 × 9.1 × 5.6 cm = 5.67” × 3.58” × 2.20”

Fluorescence short UV & minor fluorescence long UV

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Cobaltoan Calcite
 

RA86Y9: Fine banded growths that alternate bands of very intense and deep color contrasting with others that have a very pale color. As a rarity, we note the presence of a small geode with very acute cobaltoan Calcite crystals, very rare for the locality.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 14.5 × 8.6 × 4.8 cm = 5.71” × 3.39” × 1.89”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Cobaltoan Calcite. Cobaltoan Calcite.
Cobaltoan Calcite.
Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite)
Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite). Front
Front		Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite). Rear
Rear
 

RG12X8: Parallel banded growths of Calcite, very rich with oriented bluish-green Aurichalcite inclusions.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 9.2 × 5.8 × 5.3 cm = 3.62” × 2.28” × 2.09”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Zoned fluorescence long & short UV
Aurichalcite on Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite)
 

RE26Y9: Green microcrystalline Aurichalcite films on banded Calcite with a very slightly green color due to the presence of inclusions of the same Aurichalcite. A very uncommon sample, because well differentiated exposed Aurichalcite is very scarce for the locality.
Solita Mine, Peramea, Baix Pallars, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 12 × 9.4 × 3.3 cm = 4.72” × 3.70” × 1.30”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Calcite fluorescent long & short UV
Aurichalcite on Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite). Aurichalcite on Calcite with Aurichalcite inclusions (variety zeiringite).
Quartz with Pyrophyllite
Quartz with Pyrophyllite. Quartz with Pyrophyllite.
 

RC10T8: Crystals of quartz with parallel growths on their terminal areas, very bright and partially coated by small crystals of Pyrophyllite.
Prat d'en Mallol, Llavorsí, Comarca Pallars Sobirà, Lérida / Lleida, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (1963)

Specimen size: 9.4 × 6.9 × 6.4 cm = 3.70” × 2.72” × 2.52”

Main crystal size: 9.4 × 4.4 cm = 3.70” × 1.73”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Pyrophyllite minor fluorescence long & short UV
Fluorite
 

RM14P1: Group of cubical crystals of sharp, very well defined, faces and edges of slightly greenish yellow color. The sample, with the edges areas more transparent than the central areas of the faces, is absolutely representative of this Catalan locality.
Matagalls Mine (Sant Marçal Mines), Sant Marçal, Viladrau, Comarca Osona, Gerona / Girona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 11.2 × 11 × 3.2 cm = 4.41” × 4.33” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 1.7 cm = 1.06” × 0.67”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Fluorite. Fluorite.
Fluorite with Baryte and Quartz
Fluorite with Baryte and Quartz. Fluorite with Baryte and Quartz.
 

RF46X8: Aggregate of cubic Fluorite crystals that are bright, between transparent and translucent and have a clear green color and selective Quartz coatings on some of their faces. There also are some pink Baryte crystals on them. A classic of Spanish mineralogy.
Matagalls Mine (Sant Marçal Mines), Sant Marçal, Viladrau, Comarca Osona, Gerona / Girona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (±1960)

Specimen size: 16.3 × 15.5 × 3.8 cm = 6.42” × 6.10” × 1.50”

Main crystal size: 3 × 3 cm = 1.18” × 1.18”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Fluorescent long & short UV
Quartz (variety smoky) with Feldspar
Quartz (variety smoky) with Feldspar  

RF12AB7: Floater complete Quartz crystal, extraordinarily flat, with a very uncommon shape and bordered and partially coated by small crystals of an indeterminate Feldspar. The locality is very unusual.
La Roca del Vallès, Comarca Vallès Oriental, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 10.4 × 6.2 × 1.1 cm = 4.09” × 2.44” × 0.43”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Quartz (variety smoky) with Feldspar. Front
Front		Quartz (variety smoky) with Feldspar. Side
Side
Wulfenite (variety chillagite)
Wulfenite (variety chillagite).
 

RD10K9: Excellent miniature, very representative of this rare variety that is an intermediate member of the Wulfenite-Stolzite series. From a Catalan classic locality close to Barcelona. Crystals show a lenticular appereance.
Teresita Mine, Can Donadeu, Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Comarca Vallès Oriental, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 2.3 × 2.1 × 0.8 cm = 0.91” × 0.83” × 0.31”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Wulfenite (variety chillagite)
 

RC59K9: Excellent miniature, very representative of this rare variety that is an intermediate member of the Wulfenite-Stolzite series. From a Catalan classic locality close to Barcelona. Crystals show a lenticular appearance.
Teresita Mine, Can Donadeu, Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Comarca Vallès Oriental, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 2.4 × 2.0 × 1.4 cm = 0.94” × 0.79” × 0.55”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Wulfenite (variety chillagite).
Wulfenite (variety chillagite) with Baryte
Wulfenite (variety chillagite) with Baryte.
 

RB12M9: Thin laminar crystals of this rare variety of Wulfenite, rich in tungsten, that contrast with the white matrix of Baryte. The locality is a classic of Spanish mineralogy and the samples are very scarce.
Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Comarca Vallès Oriental, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 2.7 × 2.1 × 1.7 cm = 1.06” × 0.83” × 0.67”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Wulfenite (variety chillagite)
 

RA60K9: Excellent miniature, very representative of this rare variety that is an intermediate member of the Wulfenite-Stolzite series. From a Catalan classic locality close to Barcelona. Crystals show a lenticular appereance.
Teresita Mine, Can Donadeu, Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Comarca Vallès Oriental, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 3.4 × 2.3 × 1.2 cm = 1.34” × 0.91” × 0.47”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Wulfenite (variety chillagite).
Wulfenite (variety chillagite) on Baryte
Wulfenite (variety chillagite) on Baryte.
 

RP16M0: Laminar, very thin, crystals of this rare variety of Wulfenite (Chillagite is tungstenian wulfenite),enhanced by a white matrix. The locality is a classic of Spanish mineralogy.
Teresita Mine, Can Donadeu, Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Comarca Vallès Oriental, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (±1950)

Specimen size: 4.2 × 3.4 × 1.7 cm = 1.65” × 1.34” × 0.67”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Wulfenite (variety chillagite) with Fluorite and Galena
 

RZ9P1: Creamy beveled laminar crystals, some of them very well defined, of this very rare Wulfenite variety, rich in tungsten. The crystals contrast with a matrix of clear greenish Fluorite with nucleus of Galena.
Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Comarca Vallès Oriental, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (01/1955)

Specimen size: 7.8 × 5.9 × 4.3 cm = 3.07” × 2.32” × 1.69”

Main crystal size: 1.1 × 0.7 cm = 0.43” × 0.28”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Wulfenite (variety chillagite) with Fluorite and Galena. Wulfenite (variety chillagite) with Fluorite and Galena.
Octahedral Fluorite
Octahedral Fluorite. Octahedral Fluorite.
Octahedral Fluorite  

RD9AA2: Druse of very sharp octahedral crystals, translucent, with an intense green color and coating a granite matrix. A Spanish classic from a currently closed locality that only sporadically produces samples of this quality. Given to Sr. Folch by Ramón Brumós Albero, a well-known amateur mineralogist of the last century.
Berta Quarry, Can Domènech Hill, Roques Blanques Mountains, Sant Cugat del Vallès-El Papiol, Comarca Vallès Occidental / Baix Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain

Specimen size: 10.8 × 7.7 × 4.3 cm = 4.25” × 3.03” × 1.69”

Main crystal size: 0.6 × 0.5 cm = 0.24” × 0.20”

Fluorescent long & short UV
Cerussite with Galena
 

RC62P1: Very well defined twins of flat prismatic crystals whose color is between white and clear brown, and they are on a massive Galena matrix. We especially note that the mine is well documented on the label, which is unusual on most of the samples of the epoch.
Raimunda Mine, El Molar, Comarca Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (±1923)

Specimen size: 6.3 × 5.3 × 3.8 cm = 2.48” × 2.09” × 1.50”

Main crystal size: 0.6 × 0.3 cm = 0.24” × 0.12”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Cerussite with Galena. Cerussite with Galena.
Cerussite with Galena
Cerussite with Galena. Cerussite with Galena.
 

RB63P1: Very well defined twins of flat prismatic crystals whose color is between white and clear brown, and they are on a massive Galena matrix. We especially note that the mine is well documented on the label, which is unusual on most of the samples of the epoch.
Raimunda Mine, El Molar, Comarca Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (±1923)

Specimen size: 7 × 3.6 × 5.1 cm = 2.76” × 1.42” × 2.01”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.2 cm = 0.28” × 0.08”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Cerussite with Galena
 

FQ11K0: The sample, mined in 1959, forms groups of twinned crystals from the old oxidation zone of this historic and classic Spanish locality. The matrix is basically of massive Galena and Cerussite with Limonite.
Raimunda Mine, El Molar, Comarca Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (1959)

Specimen size: 7.5 × 4.5 × 4.4 cm = 2.95” × 1.77” × 1.73”

Main crystal size: 0.5 × 0.3 cm = 0.20” × 0.12”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Fluorescent long UV & minor fluorescence short UV
Cerussite with Galena. Front
Front
Cerussite with Galena. Top
Top		Cerussite with Galena.
Cerussite with Galena
Cerussite with Galena. Cerussite with Galena.
 

RK64P1: Butterfly and cyclic twins of well defined crystals on a massive Galena matrix. We especially note that the mine is well documented on the label, which is unusual on most of the samples of the epoch. The label notes the year of the find of the specimen - 1923.
Raimunda Mine, El Molar, Comarca Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (±1923)

Specimen size: 7.9 × 7.5 × 5.2 cm = 3.11” × 2.95” × 2.05”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.5 cm = 0.28” × 0.20”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Dolomite
Dolomite  

RZ46R6: Aerial group of translucent and bright rhombohedral crystals. The Folch collection records note that is was collected by F. Coma October 1959.
Asturreta Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain

Specimen size: 5.8 × 3.8 × 3.9 cm = 2.28” × 1.50” × 1.54”

Main crystal size: 3.1 × 2.3 cm = 1.22” × 0.91”

With handwritten note & record from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Dolomite.
Dolomite
Dolomite.
 

RQ10X8: Aggregate of Sharp, white rhombohedral Dolomite crystals. They are translucent and have very well marked phantom growths.
Asturreta Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain

Specimen size: 6.2 × 5.8 × 4.5 cm = 2.44” × 2.28” × 1.77”

Main crystal size: 4 × 3 cm = 1.57” × 1.18”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Dolomite
 

RQ46Q5: Twinned rhombohedral crystals with the usual quality for Eugui, with very well defined faces and edges, from transparent to translucent and very bright. A Spanish classic.
Asturreta Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain (1959)

Specimen size: 6.9 × 4.4 × 2.7 cm = 2.72” × 1.73” × 1.06”

Main crystal size: 3.4 × 3.3 cm = 1.34” × 1.30”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Dolomite. Front
Front		Dolomite. Top
Top
Dolomite
Dolomite.
 

RP17F9: The crystals of this aggregate have great clarity and brightness, with inner iridescent inclusions. The interpenetration twin is apparent in different zones on the specimen.
Asturreta Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain (1968)

Specimen size: 7 × 5 × 3.7 cm = 2.76” × 1.97” × 1.46”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Twinned Dolomite
Twinned Dolomite  

FY47K0: Twin of two rhombohedral crystals of very well defined faces and edges, bright and translucent. The original label indicates that it was a gift from Carlos Díaz de Mauriño, from Pamplona, in 1967, to Sr. Folch.
Asturreta Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain (±1967)

Specimen size: 7.7 × 6.1 × 6 cm = 3.03” × 2.40” × 2.36”

Main crystal size: 3.8 × 3.7 cm = 1.50” × 1.46”

With handwritten note & record from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Twinned Dolomite. Front
Front
Twinned Dolomite. Top
Top
Doubly terminated Calcite
Doubly terminated Calcite. Front
Front		Doubly terminated Calcite. Side
Side
 

RZ11H9: The sample mined the August 1960, must be one of the first known from the locality. Doubly terminated, a twin of two trapezohedrons with rhombohedrons forming the terminations.
La Florida mining area, Herrería-Valdáliga-Rionansa, Comarca Costa Occidental/Saja-Nansa, Cantabria  Spain (06/1960)

Specimen size: 5 × 3.7 × 2.8 cm = 1.97” × 1.46” × 1.10”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence short UV
Calcite with Dolomite
 

RA10X8: An interesting and fine precursor of the samples from La Florida, with yellow and transparent scalenohedral crystals. On matrix, with slightly pink Dolomite crystals.
La Florida mining area, Herrería-Valdáliga-Rionansa, Comarca Costa Occidental/Saja-Nansa, Cantabria  Spain (±1980)

Specimen size: 7.2 × 4.9 × 3.1 cm = 2.83” × 1.93” × 1.22”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 1.4 cm = 1.06” × 0.55”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Dolomite minor fluorescence long & short UV
Calcite with Dolomite.
Calcite with Dolomite. Calcite with Dolomite.
Calcite with Dolomite
Calcite with Dolomite.
 

RB11X8: Very aerial group of whitish scalenohedral Calcite crystals on a matrix of pink Dolomite crystals. It is a precursor of the Calcite from La Florida, but it has some significant differences, as with the color and the crystal morphology.
La Florida mining area, Herrería-Valdáliga-Rionansa, Comarca Costa Occidental/Saja-Nansa, Cantabria  Spain (±1980)

Specimen size: 7.5 × 6.2 × 3.8 cm = 2.95” × 2.44” × 1.50”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 0.9 cm = 0.63” × 0.35”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Dolomite fluorescent long & short UV
Sphalerite with Dolomite
 

RX14P1: Well defined crystals, bright and of good color and transparency, with small coatings of white Dolomite, on matrix.
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain

Specimen size: 4.2 × 3.6 × 2.8 cm = 1.65” × 1.42” × 1.10”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.8 cm = 0.39” × 0.31”

Sphalerite with Dolomite. Sphalerite with Dolomite.
Sphalerite with Calcite and Dolomite
Sphalerite with Calcite and Dolomite. Front
Front		Sphalerite with Calcite and Dolomite. Side
Side
 

RM66P8: Complex crystals of Sphalerite of dark honey color and good transparency, partially coated by small crystals of Dolomite and with doubly terminated crystals of Calcite (a species uncommon at this locality in well-formed crytals), with the shape of a scalenohedron but composed of polycrystalline growths of the prism and a terminal rhombohedron.
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain

Specimen size: 6.7 × 5.7 × 4.7 cm = 2.64” × 2.24” × 1.85”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Sphalerite
 

RF86L9: Very sharp Sphalerite crystal with some curved edges. A translucent sample with a good honey to red intense color.
The piece is accompanied by a handwritten label from the Folch collection.
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain

Specimen size: 7.3 × 6 × 3 cm = 2.87” × 2.36” × 1.18”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Sphalerite.
Sphalerite with Dolomite
Sphalerite with Dolomite.
 

RG14V1: Parallel growths of complex crystals of Sphalerite with a deep honey orange color and on a matrix of Dolomite with Calcite.
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain

Specimen size: 8.8 × 6.1 × 5.6 cm = 3.46” × 2.40” × 2.20”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Sphalerite with Dolomite
Sphalerite with Dolomite  

RH89K9: Complex Sphalerite crystal group, with multiple faces and curved edges. The color is excellent and contrasts with the snowy white Dolomite matrix.
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain (±1968)

Specimen size: 10.1 × 7.5 × 6.5 cm = 3.98” × 2.95” × 2.56”

Main crystal size: 5.7 × 5.3 cm = 2.24” × 2.09”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Sphalerite with Dolomite.
Sphalerite with Dolomite. Sphalerite with Dolomite.
Doubly terminated Calcite with Sphalerite
Doubly terminated Calcite with Sphalerite.
Doubly terminated Calcite with Sphalerite.
 

RF64L3: Calcite crystal, with a small but aerial Sphalerite crystal, not well defined but complete. Calcite from this mine is not common in this well defined shape.
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain (±1975)

Specimen size: 5.7 × 4.1 × 3 cm = 2.24” × 1.61” × 1.18”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.7 cm = 0.39” × 0.28”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Minor fluorescence long & short UV
Fluorite
 

RE36V5: Transparent cubic crystal with clear sky blue color, echeloned growths on the edges and recrystallized on the back side. The sample resembles, due to its aspect, some of the recent pieces from La Viesca, but it is earlier than the works at this place and it is from La Collada.
The sample is with a label that we'll send to the buyer.
Josefa-Veneros vein, 75 level, Coroña de Arriba-La Collada, La Collada mining area, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1973)

Specimen size: 10.5 × 8.6 × 5.4 cm = 4.13” × 3.39” × 2.13”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Fluorite. Front
Front		Fluorite. Side
Side
Azurite with Conichalcite and Tyrolite
Azurite with Conichalcite and Tyrolite.
 

RQ59Y9: Nuclei of small Azurite crystals, on matrix, that have a very intense color and luster and are with botryoidal Conichalcite aggregates with a very deep green color and with leafy Tyrolite aggregates in clear bluish-green tones.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 3.5 × 2.8 × 4 cm = 1.38” × 1.10” × 1.57”

Main crystal size: 0.1 × 0.1 cm = 0.04” × 0.04”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Azurite with Conichalcite and Tyrolite
 

RH13Y9: Surfaces of small Azurite crystals, on matrix, that have a very intense color and luster and are with very well defined botryoidal Conichalcite aggregates and with leafy Tyrolite aggregates in clear bluish-green tones.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 10.3 × 8.3 × 5.8 cm = 4.06” × 3.27” × 2.28”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Azurite with Conichalcite and Tyrolite. Azurite with Conichalcite and Tyrolite.
Tyrolite with Chrysocolla
Tyrolite with Chrysocolla. Tyrolite with Chrysocolla.
 

RG46Y9: Very well defined radial Tyrolite aggregates of leafy crystals. The have an excellent silky luster and a pale bluish-green color. They are on matrix, with Chrysocolla.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 3.5 × 3.4 × 2.8 cm = 1.38” × 1.34” × 1.10”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite
Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite  

RA6W6: Fanlike growths of laminar crystals of Tyrolite with a green, slightly blue, color and rough growths of the same mineral, with Azurite and globular growths of Conichalcite on a limonite matrix. The Chrysocolla cited on the original label from Folch surely refers to the rough Tyrolite.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain

Specimen size: 4.3 × 3.8 × 2.5 cm = 1.69” × 1.50” × 0.98”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite.
Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite. Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite.
Tyrolite
Tyrolite. Tyrolite.
Tyrolite  

RT9P1: Aggregates of thin laminar crystals of Tyrolite. They are bright and the color is very deep. On matrix with Chrysocolla and Tetrahedrite-Tennantite.
On the back of the label it is cited that it was collected by D. Joaquín Folch on the dumps of the mine in 1960.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (04/1960)

Specimen size: 5 × 4.7 × 3.2 cm = 1.97” × 1.85” × 1.26”

With handwritten note & record from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla
 

RF47Z8: Aggregates of laminar Tyrolite crystals with excellent silky luster and pale green color. They are on matrix, with Azurite.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 5.1 × 4.1 × 1.8 cm = 2.01” × 1.61” × 0.71”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla. Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla.
Tyrolite
Tyrolite. Tyrolite.
 

RV8P1: Deep green aggregates of thin laminar crystals on dark brown matrix.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (04/1960)

Specimen size: 5.4 × 4.3 × 2.9 cm = 2.13” × 1.69” × 1.14”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla  

RF13AE6: Leafy aggregates, some of them radial, of very well defined tabular Tyrolite crystals with an excellent silky luster and deep green color. They are on matrix with Azurite and Chrysocolla.
The sample is from the Joaquín Folch duplicates collection, whose label we’ll send to the buyer.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 5.7 × 3.8 × 2.4 cm = 2.24” × 1.50” × 0.94”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla. Front
Front		Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla. Rear
Rear
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla.
Tyrolite with Azurite
Tyrolite with Azurite. Tyrolite with Azurite.
 

RC14Y9: Very well defined radial Tyrolite aggregates of leafy crystals. The have an excellent silky luster and a pale bluish-green color. They are on matrix, with Azurite.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 6 × 4.6 × 3 cm = 2.36” × 1.81” × 1.18”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite
 

RV12Y9: Very well defined radial Tyrolite aggregates of leafy crystals. The have an excellent silky luster and a pale bluish-green color. They are on matrix, with Azurite and Conichalcite.
The specimen's photo has been reviewed and published in the magazine ‘Rocks & Minerals’ on page 554 in the volume 90, number 6, Nov/Dec 2015
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 6.4 × 5 × 3.6 cm = 2.52” × 1.97” × 1.42”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite. Tyrolite with Conichalcite and Azurite.
Tyrolite
Tyrolite. Tyrolite.
Tyrolite  

RP96R0: Radial leafy growths of bright green laminar crystals of Tyrolite that contrast with the darker rocky matrix.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1959)

Specimen size: 7.2 × 4.2 × 4.7 cm = 2.83” × 1.65” × 1.85”

With handwritten note & record from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite
 

RD86Y9: Very well defined radial Tyrolite aggregates of leafy crystals. The have an excellent silky luster and a pale bluish-green color.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 7.9 × 4.9 × 3.9 cm = 3.11” × 1.93” × 1.54”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite. Tyrolite with Azurite.
Tyrolite with Chrysocolla and Azurite
Tyrolite with Chrysocolla and Azurite. Tyrolite with Chrysocolla and Azurite.
 

FT6K0: Leafy groups of laminar crystals on matrix, with Chrysocolla and vugs of small crystals of Azurite.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1981)

Specimen size: 7.9 × 6.2 × 5 cm = 3.11” × 2.44” × 1.97”

Main crystal size: 0.8 × 0.4 cm = 0.31” × 0.16”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla
 

RB14Y9: Very well defined radial Tyrolite aggregates of leafy crystals. The have an excellent silky luster and a pale bluish-green color. They are on matrix, with Azurite and Chrysocolla.
Delfina Mine, Hoyos de Alda, Ortiguero, Prado, Cabrales, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1960)

Specimen size: 8.2 × 5.5 × 5.2 cm = 3.23” × 2.17” × 2.05”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)
Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla. Tyrolite with Azurite and Chrysocolla.
Cinnabar with Calcite
Cinnabar with Calcite. Cinnabar with Calcite.
 

RP66X8: Crystalline growth, on a rock matrix with exfoliated Calcite, a very typical aspect of the old Cinnabar samples found at the place erroneously called “puerto de Tarna,” which really corresponds to the Las Señales mines, also in León province. We note that this Cinnabar has not been acid-treated and that, in spite of the long time passed, maintains its intense luster and vivid red color. A classic, classic, from Spain.
Escarlati Mine, Puerto de las Señales, Maraña, Comarca Montaña Oriental, León, Castile and León  Spain

Specimen size: 6.2 × 4.6 × 5.6 cm = 2.44” × 1.81” × 2.20”

With handwritten note from the Folch Collection (duplicates)

Calcite fluorescent long & short UV

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