SOLD
VLT09-079
Wulfenite
Red Cloud Mine, La Paz County, Arizona, USA
Miniature, 4.6 x 4.5 x 2.4 cm
Ex. Richard Kosnar
SOLD
I had the great privilege of seeing the Kosnar family collection when I was a younger dealer, and out of all the fabulous classics that stuck with my mind as I left afterwards, the suite of windowpane gem wulfenites is probably what struck me the most. I had no idea such things existed from the Red Cloud Mine - very different from material of other pockets I had seen in gemminess and in the electric luster of the crystals. Apparently, these had been collected in one small pocket by a field collector, Leigh Price, in 1967 - and simply tucked away in his and his friends' collections. The major crystal here is approximately an inch on each edge, and a little more than that measured across. It is so gemmy you can look into it, and has the highest glassy luster I have EVER SEEN ON ANY WULFENITE SPECIMEN from any locality. The surface is like windexed glass, slick and glassy. The major crystal is totally pristine, too (the sidecar crystals have some minor contacts of no real significance but are generally showy and good on their display faces, as well). A subtle feature of the large central crystal is the slight countouring of the front face. It is not perfectly flat, but rather has growth curves and patterns on it that reflect the light intricately. Again, I have never seen a wulfenite quite like it. This one, to me, is totally unique and I am told also was among the largest crystals found that day in 1969. As a final rallying point here, I should say that most Red Cloud wulfenite is in fact red-orange. This is the most intense red crystal, that I have seen, even more red than the famous Ed Over specimens of around 1930