Chalcopyrite

$150.00

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A historic small miniature / large thumbnail of Chalcopyrite with Baryte and Sphalerite from Ecton Hill, Staffordshire, England. Specimens from the Ecton Hill mines are not commonly seen these days and this specimen dates back to the collection of Charles Groom-Napier (1839-1894). Micro-crystals of Calcite and brown Sphalerite coat a small matrix of dark grey bituminous limestone. On top of this a dense covering of highly tarnished Chalcopyrite crystals which obscure almost everything below it. In the centre is an 8 mm diameter sphere of chalky white Baryte. The specimen is accompanied by a detailed collector’s label and a neatly handwritten old label, presumably that of Napier. The latter is not one of his “Mus. M.&M.” red labels and bears the description “Copper Pyrites with a fine purple iridescence on Cawk, with Brown Blend”.