From Full Barrels to New Discoveries

A beautiful November day on Chicago's North Shore, six hours of digging, and a whole lot of rocks — what a day!

Matthew, Eric, and I spent today working our way through more barrels from the Henry and Patsy Collection. Every empty barrel you see in these photos was half full to completely full this morning. Emptying them took plenty of lifting, sorting, teamwork, and getting dirty, but discovering what was inside made it all worthwhile.

Today's Finds

• Raw lepidolite "books" from Brazil, with their beautiful layered mica structure.

• Brazilian agate slabs in a wide range of sizes and colors.

• Geodes from Brazil, both natural and dyed.

• Green fuchsite.

• Arizona petrified wood.

• Giant bags of tumbled stones.

• Giant elestial quartz specimens.

• Planalto amethyst plates, including amethyst flowers, along with pieces showing purple, green, blue, and red coloration.

And that's only part of what we uncovered!

What Happens Next

There is a lot of work between going through a barrel and getting these pieces ready for you. We're sorting, cleaning, identifying, and preparing the finds so we can share more of this remarkable collection through High Ho Gems — in the shop, online, and in upcoming sales.

One of my favorite parts of this project is bringing these stones back into the light. Each barrel gives us another glimpse into the collection Henry and Patsy built over decades, and another opportunity to share their love of minerals with you.

There's So Much More to Come

Keep watching the Henry and Patsy Collection page — there's so much more to come as we uncover, prepare, and share these remarkable treasures with you.