Cassiterite

Unknown Owner

Rare location tin (Cassiterite) is what Col. Sir William Serjeant (1857-1930) of St. Benet's Abbey, Lanivet was renowned for, but more so are his iconic blue-rimmed octagonal labels. Before his death, Serjeant sold his mineral collection to Plymouth Museum but during the 1970s many of his specimens were exchanged by the museum with mineral dealers who then sold them on, or kept them in their own private collections. They are now extremely collectible items, for their beautiful labels and their historic pedigree. This great example is a little faded, but is from one of the rarer localities - Wheal Henry China Clay Pit in Cornwall - making it a quite important historic piece. Ex Bruce Grant Collection, no. 1885.