Gold (quasi-wire) on Quartz (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

Here we have a rarely seen Gold specimen from the King Solomon Mine (Kenton Mine) in Sierra County, California. The piece was likely collected over 100 years ago since the mine had no significant production since 1892, but it very well could have been found on the dumps with a metal detector. The piece features a rarely seen quasi-wire of Gold with an unusual elongated, striated/skeletal form measuring 6 mm flaring out of massive white Quartz and associated with minor micro-crystalline silvery-grey Arsenopyrite. A very showy and fine quality Gold specimen from this little known locality in Northern California. The piece sits nicely on its own without the aid of a base or clay. The price of good matrix Gold specimens seems to always be on the rise, and I could see this one retail for as much as $5,000 for the fact that it's an UN-repaired, showy matrix display specimen from a rare locality. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman (the number 4871 can be seen on the base of the specimen). 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".