Walpurgite With Uranospinite
Unknown Owner
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It is very probable that this specimen is from the type find of the species (of both of them, for that matter) in the 1870s, as it soon after found its way to the collection of Clarence Bement by the late 1800s and he had many contacts to send him superb examples of new species. Even after, this notable old find was not surpassed in quality, although a few later pockets were found over the years. A Walpugis specimen today on the market is EXTREMELY rare and I have seen but a handful (and bought up every one). This specimen contains crystals of bright yellow walpurgite showing sharp crystal form (distinguishing them from a later find of richer coverage, but smaller XL size), mixed with bright green plates of uranospinite. Zeunerite is also in association as is some minor torbernite. Comes in Bement's ORIGINAL cardboard micromount box, dating to the late 1800s! This specimen was preserved in the Harvard museum collection, from which I obtained it by exchange. (TYPE LOCALITY for BOTH SPECIES) .The following is taken from the Mineralogical Record archives on GW Fiss and surely applies to the history of this rare specimen: Around 1897 Bement began his own micromount collection, sharing the second-best pieces he acquired with Fiss, who did all of his mounting for him. This arrangement continued until around 1911, when Bement sold all 2, 300 of his micromounts to Fiss, who kept the best examples for himself and replaced them with duplicates before reselling the Bement micromount collection to A.F. Holden in 1912. Holden later presented his collection to Harvard, where it is preserved today, except for a substantial number of duplicates which were distributed by Harvard to various micromounters of the day.
Product details
SpeciesWalpurgite
SizeThumbnail
Dimensions1.0 x 1.0 cm
Added on10/23/2024
LocalityGermany, Saxony, Walpurgis Flacher vein
Known provenance
| Date | Collector | Acquisition price |
|---|---|---|
| 08/2024 | Unknown Owner | Not disclosed |
| — | The Arkenstone | Not disclosed |
Comments