Home > Franklin & Sterling Hill – March 26 > MS1039 Kutnohorite

Kutnohorite - Sold


Kutnohorite, also spelled kutnahorite, is a calcium manganese carbonate with the dolomite crystal structure. The mineral name follows from Kutná Hora, a town in the Czech Republic. The status of kutnohorite remained in doubt for the first half of the twentieth century until Frondel & Bauer (1955) established its identity through X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis. Globally, the mineral is rather rare, and many so labeled samples are in fact calcite or rhodochrosite. This specimen is a pink cleavage fragment. Interesting specimen!

This specimen was part of the personal collection of Ralph Merrill, proprietor of the prolific mail order business Minerals Unlimited. Ralph obtained this specimen from Forrest Cureton in 1963. Merrill's collection card and label also ship with the specimen.