Iridosmine in antique vial ex. Samuel Ashmead coll. Back to JUNE $999 SPECIAL RESERVE AUCTION

• Starting Time:5/23/2010 06:30:00 PM(CDT)
• Ending Time:6/8/2010 06:30:00 PM(CDT)

• Time Left:Auction Is Closed

• Size:micro
• Size Description:Miniature

Description:A very interesting historical object, this! It consists of several hundred 1mm and smaller, platy, placer nuggets of so-called "iridosmine". Pure iridosmine as a species is an iridium-rich osmium. However, this material has been found to have great variety in its makeup from piece to piece and individual nuggets may be nearly pure osmium, pure iridium, or a mix in some proportion. These grains come in a corked vial with its original wax seal intact, and labelled #132 atop. The label reads " iridosmine - Russia, Ashmead") - i.e. from the Sam Ashmead Collection which became part of the core of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences (circa late 1800s). This collection was bought by a competing dealership and the specimen here sold after addition of this "assumed" locality information , given the age and source of the pieces (and certainly it IS Russian in any case). It retains their dealer label , with a $2000 price tag. an APPROXIMATE volume is just under 1 cubic centimeter