Arizona produces a number of coppers from the famous mines such as Ray or Bisbee, but any native copper material from the Christmas Mine is incredibly rare. This specimen features sharp, small crystals of copper embedded in calcite. The calcite is colored by both the copper and, in large parts, by included tiny crystals of dioptase. Overall a fascinating and pretty locality specimen that is just unique. It is also a nice, large display size, with provenance from two noted Arizona collectors: Mark Hay to Bruce Murphy.
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