Pyrite with Quartz

Unknown Owner

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Spruce Claim Pyrites are the finest in the USA, and among the finest in the world when at their best. Rarely do we get them with great aesthetics and no damage, though, due to the high altitude, remote location, and the hard rock mining. It is a great story, how these are collected. This remote locality is REALLY HARD to collect at, and the collecting season is short. Collectors must drop in by helicopter, rappel down, and collect off the precarious cliffs here. Thus, as you can imagine, good specimens are few and far between and most has minor damage (as this one, does, as well in a few spots). This is a fine, representative specimen, dominated by two complex Pyrite crystals which are accented by sharp, attractive Quartz crystals. The two large Pyrites are 5 cm each, and they have very good luster and striated faces. The largest Quartz is 4.2 cm. The piece looks good from all angles. As is often the case with brittle Pyrite, there are fractures in the piece. They simply cannot be helped in the mining process. Overall, the aesthetics and quality are very good on this specimen, and it is one of the few I have seen recently that are more than just representative examples in this size and price range.