Large Silver & Copper halfbreed nugget

Item Description

An unusually large and very rich, silver-dominant halfbreed nugget with modest copper, from Copper Country. Halfbreeds form rarely when molten silver and copper get bound together, without alloying or intermixing. Nuggets like this, so far as I know, only came from old Michigan mines. The sculptural piece of bright, mostly massive to euhedral silver has only a modest amount of copper at the "head" and "foot" and just a bit on the "back". Complimentary green epidote and white analcime are also evident. The copper on the "head" looks like a helmet and the cast of the long-dissolved-away crystal or pebble on the copper "foot" really adds character. This is a classic, old-time, large and rare halfbreed in this richness of silver. 267 grams. Ex Howard Belsky Collection.