A Collection of High Quality Crystal Specimens

Comprising two opened nodules showing the positive and negative of the fern fossil. 366 grams total, 10-10.7 cm



From Pennsylvanian Mazon Creek, Braidwood, Illinois, USA. From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent.

Comprising three circular plates, each with a Knightia alta fish, and a fourth plate with small remains of one. 165 grams total, 71-80 mm



From Wyoming, USA. From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.

In southwest Wyoming (and parts of Colorado and Utah), in the Green River Formation, are found some of the world's most outstanding specimens of fossil fish. The Green River system was composed of three lakes: Lake Uinta, Lake Gosiute and Fossil Lake. These Eocene lakes lay in a series of intermountain basins formed by geological events that uplifted the Rocky Mountains during the early Tertiary time. The climate was much different from the desert-like climate of this area today. Both the fauna (crocodiles, alligators, boa constrictors and some subtropical fish families) and the flora (such as large palm trees) indicate a climate much like that found along the Gulf Coast today. Large amounts of ash found in the sediments indicate that volcanoes were particularly active at this time.

Comprising six circular coasters, the Orthoceras have been polished through the shell to reveal the calcite preserved inside and showing the dividing gas chambers known as suture patterns. 682 grams, 91 mm wide



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.