Acanthite w/ Calcite (RARE, old - classic locale) Kay Robertson Coll.

Item Description

Acanthite/argentite specimens are rare from the famous and historic mines at Andreasberg, even though it was one of the most widespread silver ore minerals. It was always encountered in very small quantities (Mineralogical Record St. Andreasberg Special Issue, May-June, 2017, Vol. 48, No. 3, P. 329). This is a sculptural and very rich ore specimen of solid acanthite. Argentite is the high-temperature paramorph of acanthite and is not stable at room temperature. Tightly intergrown crudely cuboctahedral to anhedral crystals form the vuggy, coral-like piece. The piece has a nifty and classic accessory of a small wing-like section of a calcite crystal, that fluoresces pink. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 3995 and acquired from the American Museum in New York in Parcel # 5. Kay assembled a nice suite of classics and rarities from this famed district. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record). SELDOM on the market and highly desirable, undoubtedly old-time acanthite.