Calcite on Malachite (circa 1900)

Item Description

This specimen is, for many collectors' tastes, one of the most refined thumbnails in the collection as it has an excellent composition and beauty combined with historic value and novelty. A calcite, gemmy and complete and perfect, sits contrasting on a velvety malachite matrix! The calcite itself is aighly aesthetic 2.0 x 1.0 cm x 0.8 cm lustrous and nearly transparent double-terminated scalenohedral crystal and that is already great for Bisbee - but it also sits on green velvety Malachite like it was placed down on a pillow (100-plus million years ago!). The overall beauty is amazing and it is one of the most rarified and recognizable thumbnail specimens you could ever obtain from Bisbee. This was likely mined in the late 1890s or early 1900s when the Copper Queen was active. It was displayed as one of the signature Bisbee specimens in the Richard W. Graeme III Tribute Exhibit at the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, February 10-13, 2022. From notable Arizona collector Les Presmyk at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, February 11, 2000. (Includes Richard W. Graeme III Tribute Exhibit label associated with the display of this specimen at the 2022 TGMS Show.)