Malachite, Chrysocolla, and Quartz

Item Description

This item is part of a special benefit auction for the Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals (ricenorthwestmuseum.org). Items are either deaccessions from the museum's collection or were donated by generous supporters listed below.

Auction open April 1, 2021 through April 17, 2021.

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, April 19, for payment using PayPal or credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost, or please contact brandy@mineralauctions.com if you'd like to plan on picking up items at future shows or during a stop through Dallas.

This is a historic Arizona specimen nicknamed 'the alligator', made up of a mix of copper species infused by quartz (silica) and also showing pockets of quartz crystals as well for a nice touch! This is old material, (1950s-1960s) classic for Arizona, but seldom seen in large specimens. Unrepaired, it is a remarkable display piece. It is translucent, and needs only very minimal backlighting to glow with color. The photos shown are taken with minimal backlighting only. The condition and the polish is excellent. Donated to the Rice Museum at its inception by Richard and Helen Rice in 1997. and it has remained there ever since. Specimens of ANY large size from this mine are rare enough, but a piece of such quality normally would have been cut up for the lapidary carving market, long ago. This material is often sold at gem shows and as jewelry material, by the gram weight. This weighs in at 795 grams (about two pounds weight).