Smaltite (Skutterudite) (OLD - rare) Robertson Coll.

Item Description

RARE and extremely rich old skutterudite from the historic mines at Wittichen. Sharp, lustrous, metallic-gray crystals nearly totally cover the undulating surface of the essentially solid skutterudite ore matrix. The bit of sparkly drusy quartz at one end is a nice accent. Smaltite is an old synonym for skutterudite. Undoubtedly old-time material, but no proof. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 8885 and acquired from well-known dealer Al McGuinness at the Tucson Show in 1980. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017). Classic, excellent, very rich OLD-TIME seldom available skutterudite from this locality.