Central Coast Collection

THOUGHTFULLY CURATED MINERALS, FOSSILS, METEORITES ANCHOR CALIFORNIA TROVE

When gold was discovered in California in 1848, thousands of miners flocked to the area around Coloma. As early prospectors laid their claims, latecomers were forced to explore nearby areas, leading to the discovery of rich placer deposits near what is the modern day Eagle’s Nest Mine.

The mine would become famous for producing extremely rare, high-grade crystallized gold. “Crystallized gold specimens are valuable collector’s item, far removed from the actual spot price of gold,” says Craig Kissick, director of the Nature & Science department at Heritage.

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A stunning piece of crystallized gold on quartz from Eagle’s Nest Mine is among the highlights of a single-owner collection being offered at Heritage’s upcoming nature and science auction. Additional lots include superlative fossils, meteorites, minerals and lapidary art. “Each category of this thoughtfully curated collection has fine examples suitable for any serious collector,” Kissick says.

A rare lunar meteorite, measuring about 2 inches at its widest point, was found in the Dhofar Desert region of Oman by noted meteorite hunter Michael Farmer in 2008, making it the 57th distinct lunar meteorite to be classified as such. “Based on the size of the main mass recovered,” Kissick says, “this example will be one of the two largest slices ever in existence of this particular meteorite.”

The collectors have been dedicated to acquiring the finest property available from reputable sources and “taking great care to catalog and curate it properly,” Kissick says. “In addition to quality, diversity is a theme for the Central Coast Collection, with a wide array of examples of natural history, from small- to large-sized specimens and common to rare varieties.”

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