Pyrargyrite with Galena and Calcite

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Pyrargyrite, formerly known as "Red Silver Ore" - due to its red internal reflections - is a silver antimony sulphide and is one of the most sought after silver-bearing species. Large crystals are rare, and very valuable, particularly those from famous historic silver-mining regions of the world. St. Andreasberg in the Harz Mountains, Lower Saxony, Germany is one such famous district. This richly crystallized Pyrargyrite with Calcite is from St. Andreasberg and although it does display areas of damage, it also has several patches of perfect Pyrargyrite crystals. The crystals are actually much darker than the broken areas which display the red colour much better. The crystals reach 3 mm in size with one larger crystal/crystal aggregate reaching 1.2 cm across. One small area of Galena showing cubic cleavage surfaces is also evident. If one looks beyond the few damaged surfaces this is actually an extremely rich European Pyrargyrite and this is shown by its overall density. Ex David Hardman collection, no. 674.