Classic old material - seldom seen today in quality! Before Dalnegorsk material came to market from Russia, these were widely considered the best pyrrhotites around, and now they are dramatically discounted compared to prices brought in former days. However, they still hav egreat impact for form and color, and the importance of being from this locale. A large, blocky, doubly terminated crystal of bronze colored pyrrhotite, measuring 5 cm in length, is attached to another crystal that has been contacted on the back side. Interestingly, the basal terminations exhibit a much lighter bronze color than the sides. Superb old classic

Four species on one specimen , with style! Here we have elongated crystals, to 2.8 cm in length, of finely crystallized, splendent, brassy yellow pyrite which have pseudomorphed (replaced) elongated pyrrhotite crystals. though the form is unusual, both the form for pyrrhotite and this replacement is well documented at this locale, and considered an old classic find. These are perched, along with lustrous black crystals of sphalerite to 3 cm across, on milky, translucent quartz crystals to 4 cm in length. All are of high quality and stick out in different directions like they were stuck into a pincushion, making this a very 3-dimensional specimen.

This incredible large specimen is the finest large pyrrho I have seen since handling the well-known "Freilich specimen," from Sotheby's, in 2001. That piece was bigger, but this one is more elegant and significant because of the larger size of the pyrrhotite clusters. And I have seen a lot of them! The piece has stark , 3-dimensional clusters leaping off of crystallized quartz matrix. Despite the massiveness of the pyrrhotite clusters, their bright brassy color and curving form give them an elegance that a similarly sized galena or sphalerite would not have. the piece looks almost biological, with "snakes" of golden pyrrhotite "climbing" up the matrix to jump off the top like lemmings. The specimen is complete on all sides but the back, where it is naturally contacted. It was mined in 1996, I am told. On the whole specimen, there are just a few small spots of edge wear and thats it. It is nearly pristine, remarkable given the size and composition. Here is a world class example of the species, at a frankly bargain price. But, I got it cheaply, myself, so....