Cuprite (fine crystals) with Silver and Copper ("halfbreed") (ex Kay Robertson Collection)

Item Description

Superb crystallized Cuprite from the famous Ray Mine in Arizona. Sharp, well-formed, deep blood red, gemmy, modified cuboctahedral crystals of Cuprite measuring up to about 5 mm are associated with wires of Silver plus crystalized and arborescent Copper on massive Copper matrix. The piece is labeled "half-breed", which is usually reserved for Copper / Silver combinations, but this one has Cuprite as well, so I don't know if you could call it a "tri-breed", but it's incredibly rare to see these three species together on a single specimen from any locality. You can spend a great deal of time looking at the piece from all sides as there are different crystal habits to be seen everywhere. A beautiful and eye-catching example unlike anything I can remember seeing from Ray. Ex Kay Robertson Collection (#1215). 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 Velt" November-December 2017). Valued at $1500.