Chalcocite

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Cornwall's heyday in the 1800's saw the mining of many great minerals, including its famous Chalcocites. This is an excellent, intricately crystallized cluster of the classic, pseudo-hexagonal, tabular Chalcocites. These thick, hexagonal 'pillows' reach 1.4 cm across, have good metallic luster, and some iridescence. It is classic miniatures like this that once made Cornwall THE world's great locality for the species. Rare today, in any quality, this is actually one of the finest display-quality miniatures I have seen even among museums, barring only a few eccentric pieces with larger crystals. It has a balance, and space-filling look to it, combined with the machined look of the crystals, that makes this exceptional for the collector.