Cassiterite (old classic with huge xls) Larry Conklin Coll.

Item Description

An imposing and uncommon , lustrous and glassy cassiterite specimen with large intergrown crystals from Bolivia. The highly lustrous crystals appear dark brown to black, but back lighting shows that many of the crystals have striking gemmy to translucent areas of yellow to golden-yellow color, some with surprising and beautiful color-zoning. The crystals are all stout cyclic-twins and reach a large 4.0 cm in width. The famous Viloco Mine has produced the finest quality cassiterite specimens and is the only Bolivian tin mine, that produced facet-grade cassiterite. This is an important older specimen (called the Araca Mine then), even with the acceptable periphery wear, as it probably dates to the 1940s or earlier. Ex Larry Conklin Collection. Very hefty and rich tin ore at 1295 grams or 2.9 pounds! Specimens of this size and richness were rare then and all the more so now. This was in Larry Conklin's collection as long as I knew him, for decades, prominently dispayed. It is an important relic of the old days of mining in Bolivia and in one of the world's most important locations for this species. A significant specimen, valued $5000 or more