Gold (wires!) (rare old locality)

Item Description

The lesser known Kenton Mine in Sierra County, California dates back to the 1800s, but the last major year of significant production was 1892, so it's safe to say that this specimen is either 100+ years old, or was found in a limited / sporadic mining attempt since. This miniature features beautiful "leaf"-like formations and fine micro crystallized Gold, but the most significant aspect is that there are a few eye-visible, free-standing WIRES which measure up to 6 mm long. A lot of people would agree that wire gold is the most sought after habit for the species, and to find wires on matrix is notably rare. We photographed the specimen with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality, and the piece looks fantastic under magnification. The grey associated mineral is massive Arsenopyrite, which makes for a nice contrast against the white Quartz matrix. A superb specimen to add to any Gold suite just for the rare locality, but the combinations of habits (especially the wires), makes it all the more desirable. From a small collection of golds recently broken up and sold by a well known local Dallas dealer in gold specimens. Priced at $2,200 in the inventory.