Cuprite (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

A fantastic Cuprite from the lesser-known Irish Mag Mine in Bisbee, which existed from 1902 to 1950, so this piece is almost certainly over 75 years old. It's incredibly rare to find good quality, display specimens of this material, and this particular piece is certainly one of the best we've had to offer. The piece is loaded with dozens of fine quality, sharp, lustrous, well-formed, dark reddish colored, metallic crystals of Cuprite measuring to about 5 mm, sitting on matrix. Upon close inspection, you can see the habit of the majority of the crystals is cubic, but I can seen some octahedral and dodecahedral modifications here and there. Some of the crystals show smooth well-formed faces, while others have what appears to be an etched effect on the surface. With backlighting, a deep blood red hue can be seen inside the majority of the Cuprites for a nice touch. A fine old classic from Bisbee, almost impossible to find in today's market. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".