Gold (beautiful crystals)

Item Description

Some of the most well-known Gold specimens In the modern age of mineral collecting are those from various localities in the Western United States. With that said, of the most distinctive Gold specimens found in the last few decades are the unique and beautiful examples from the famous Alta Gold Mine in the Olinghouse District of Nevada. These beautiful and eye-catching specimens are some of the most recognizable and beautifully well-crystallized Golds from any US locality. These wonderful specimens have found their way into collections all over the world. This is a great cabinet sized example of this famous material from the old finds of the 1990s. This piece hosts what might appear to be a "wire patch" groups of Gold, but if you look closely you'll see that they features small, BRILLIANT, metallic, sharp, highly lustrous, light yellow, highly compressed crystals which resemble thin "leaves" of Gold rather than wires. Admittedly, there are some thin formations that do look like wires, but I can see compressed crystal faces on many spots up close. With some magnification, you can see how beautiful and delicate the little Gold "leaves" are with wonderful luster and eye-catching formations. The crystals are best seen under the microscope, but you can get a good idea of their quality with a loupe, and I've photographed them with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate their quality. The largest group of Gold measures 2.2 cm across at its widest dimension. This mine is now closed, with further specimen production unlikely, so if you're a fan of Gold specimens or fine crystallized examples (albeit micro) of native elements, don't miss out on this one.