Baryte

Unknown Owner

The accompanying label dates the piece to 1899-1901 (according to label archives at the Mineralogical Record site) though it possibly was mined even earlier. It is a complete crystal of sharply phantomed baryte, the style of which I find highly unusual and impactful. I have not seen another like this. The 6-cm crystal is fat, sharp, and brightly lustrous. It is highly translucent as you see. It is not broken at the base, but rather contacted where other crystals were once attached.