Fluorite on Molybdenite (circa 1950s, rare combination)

Tae Hwa Mine, Neungam-ri, Chungju City, North Chungcheong Prov., South Korea
Ex. Kurt Hefendehl
Large Cabinet, 18.5 x 17.0 x 5.8 cm
Start Time: 01/25/2023 7:00:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 02/05/2023 5:00:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $4,625

Item Description

This is a large and significant plate of Molybdenite and Fluorite associated together, and surprisingly it is from the Tae Hwa tungsten mine in South Korea. It represents one of the best and largest examples of Molybdenite from this mine we have seen, in terms of size - but the combination is so surprising that we had to look it up. When we bought the collection in Germany, we assumed this was from China, without looking it up in his catalog...perhaps an old, old specimen from a find we had not seen. However, it is much older, likely from the 1940s-1950s era of moly mining in Korea here, when such things were known to come out. Kurt also had a large Korean suite, he went to great pains to assemble over decades. The big plate is almost entirely covered in shiny gray, pseudohexagonal Molybdenite crystals along with totally transparent, sea-green Fluorite cubes. There are literally dozens of gray, metallic Molybdenite plates averaging 1.5 cm across and 3 to 5 mm in thickness that are accented by at least two dozen completely transparent, sea-green Fluorite cubes. The matrix is sparkly "ore" material and consists of abundant, disseminated metallic, brassy yellow Pyrite mixed with metallic gray Molybdenite for a great textural contrast. The piece is big, showy, impressive, intellectually and historically interesting, and we hesitate to even begin to assign a value to this treasure from the Hefendehl collection.

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$4,625 02/05/2023 4:34:06 pm (CST)
$4,575 02/05/2023 4:34:06 pm (CST)
$4,300 02/05/2023 4:33:19 pm (CST)
$4,250 02/05/2023 4:33:19 pm (CST)
$4,000 02/05/2023 4:32:24 pm (CST)
$3,950 02/05/2023 4:32:24 pm (CST)
$3,700 02/05/2023 4:03:57 pm (CST)
$3,650 02/05/2023 4:03:57 pm (CST)
$2,900 02/05/2023 12:55:22 pm (CST)
$2,850 02/05/2023 12:55:22 pm (CST)
$2,406 02/05/2023 8:45:20 am (CST)
$2,356 02/05/2023 8:45:19 am (CST)
$2,276 02/02/2023 10:08:03 pm (CST)
$2,226 02/02/2023 10:08:03 pm (CST)
$2,176 02/02/2023 10:07:52 pm (CST)
$2,126 02/02/2023 10:07:52 pm (CST)
$2,076 02/02/2023 5:20:10 pm (CST)
$2,026 02/02/2023 5:20:10 pm (CST)
$1,776 02/02/2023 5:19:59 pm (CST)
$1,726 02/02/2023 5:19:59 pm (CST)
$1,576 02/02/2023 5:19:05 pm (CST)
$1,526 02/02/2023 5:19:05 pm (CST)
$1,366 02/02/2023 5:17:53 pm (CST)
$1,316 02/02/2023 5:17:53 pm (CST)
$1,266 02/02/2023 5:17:27 pm (CST)
$1,216 02/02/2023 5:17:27 pm (CST)
$1,066 02/02/2023 5:16:58 pm (CST)
$1,016 02/02/2023 5:16:58 pm (CST)
$891 02/02/2023 5:16:46 pm (CST)
$866 02/02/2023 5:16:46 pm (CST)
$691 01/31/2023 10:53:27 pm (CST)
$666 01/31/2023 10:53:27 pm (CST)
$430 01/26/2023 5:27:33 pm (CST)
$420 01/26/2023 5:27:33 pm (CST)
$410 01/26/2023 5:07:16 pm (CST)
$400 01/26/2023 5:07:16 pm (CST)
$210 01/26/2023 4:05:46 pm (CST)
$200 01/26/2023 4:05:45 pm (CST)
$100 01/26/2023 6:04:25 am (CST)