Miargyrite with Pyrargyrite in Quartz - image 1

Miargyrite with Pyrargyrite in Quartz

Unknown Owner

The famous Czech mining town of Příbram started way back in Celtic times as a settlement based around silver mining prospects and is renowned for its unusual silver-bearing species. Pyrargyrite, silver antimony sulphide, and one of the famous 'ruby silvers' is well known and highly collectible, but rarer still is Miargyrite - similar in composition and similar in appearance, but with slightly less silver within its structure. Named from the Greek "meion" (less) and "argyros" (silver) is has an almost identical colour and lustre to Pyrargyrite, but rather than forming prismatic crystals, it forms much more bladed, monoclinic forms. This rich old-time specimen consists of Quartz veinstone disseminated with very rich Pyrargyrite and Miargyrite, but it is only really within the many cavities that well-defined crystals can be used to separate their identity. The largest Pyrargyrite crystal reaches 6 mm in length in a cavity and the sharper, pointed Miargyrite crystals are generally smaller, up to about 2 mm in size, but there are many crystals of both species present. It comes with a dealer label from Albin Jahn (1886-1946).