Stephanite (rare locality specimen) (ex Bob Reynolds Collection)

Item Description

A very rarely seen specimen of Stephanite labeled as coming from the Monitor - Mogul Mining District in Alpine Co., California. The relatively flat plate of Quartz plays host to many sharp, lustrous, dark silvery-grey colored metallic crystals of the desirable silver sulfosalt species, Stephanite along with associated flattened rhombic-shaped crystals of white Barite plus sparkling metallic golden Pyrite. While the piece is labeled as coming from the Monitor - Mogul Mining District, the old handwritten label accompanies the piece states that "this specimen and type of Barite is identical to that I have found at the Morning Star Mine", which is probably the best known locality for Stephanite in the district. You would be hard-pressed to find another crumb of this material anywhere on the market today. Silver species are not terribly well represented from California, and a cabinet sized piece like this is a big deal. It's important to point out that the old label with the specimen had a price of $175, which was a significant value back in the day for a piece like this. In today's market, the value is considerably higher, and if you collect silver minerals or specimens from California, this is an important and ridiculously hard to find example from Eastern California, about 20+ miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. Priced at $2,400 retail in our inventory. From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.