Aurichalcite

$7,500.00

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Ships from USA

T

The ArkenstoneFeatured

3,403 for sale·Member since 2026

This important and classic, small cabinet sized historic USA specimen, is from the famous 79 Mine find in the early 1970s "Aurichalcite Room" discovery which has produced what are considered the finest Aurichalcite in the world. This is a rich plate, one of the few of its kind that have returned to circulation as old collections come back to market, in this quality. It is a small-cabinet sized plate of limonite matrix, it is covered virtually edge to edge by a dense growth of deep, teal-hued tufts of Aurichalcite. A very close look will also reveal possible micro-blades of clear, gemmy Hemimorphite scattered about and where the matrix is exposed. These help create an even more interesting specimen, though the Aurichalcite is clearly the centerpiece. I love the intensity and saturation of the color in the Aurichalcite, and the contrasts in color and form with the matrix add to an already excellent aesthetic. A beautiful example of this well-known and now hard-to-find material from this fantastic locality, which lasted from 1879 to 1992. The color is very difficult to photograph. It is not a pastel light blue. It is a stronger blue than you are used to seeing in this species. The characteristic quality, matrix, and he provenance all date this to the best finds of the era in which intrepid amateur miners were going into old and dangerous tunnels (Wendell Wilson, Wayne Thompson, and friends...you can read about this adventure in particular in Wayne's recent book: IKONS: Adventures in Mineral Collecting).