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Mineral Specimens with Silver
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4.8 x 4.0 x 1.8 cm. An EXQUISITE and old-time wire silver specimen with calcite from the historic mines at Kongsberg, Norway. Combination pieces like this featuring elegant wires impaling calcite are the most desirable style, and specimens have been mined here since the 1600s. The longest and thickest silver wires very attractively project upward from the dense silver wire nest encased in calcite and are nicely burnished with a bright natural patina. And the calcites attached to the silver wires, near the top, are a beautiful and classic highlight. Ex. Korpi collection.
4.9 x 4.2 x 3.3 cm. Most of this specimen consists of native silver, and you can see some crystallized "wires" as well. It weighs 2.5 ounces. This is an old-timer from the famous silver mines at Zacatecas that apparently escaped the crusher. From the well-known California collection of Charles Hansen.
4.7 x 3.1 x 1.1 cm. Half-breeds" of silver and copper are highly prized by collectors. This is a 91-gram nugget of solid silver and copper. The silver you can see as the three large light-colored spots set in the copper. You sometimes see this half-breed phenomenon in crystallized specimens from Michigan - not as often nuggets. From the collection of noted California collector Charles Hansen.
6.7 x 5.5 x 4.8 cm. An immensely RICH, old-time silver ore specimen from the famous mines of Zacatecas, Mexico that somehow escaped the crusher. There is substantial value of silver here, and it is shocking we have it today as back in the early days of this mine nearly all wsa smelted. Spinel-twinned silver crystals are abundantly and showingly embedded in a matrix of SOLID, olive-green/brown chlorargyrite! VERY heavy for the size at 463 grams or just over a pound! Ex. George Elling Collection.
11.8 x 9.0 x 2.7 cm. GORGEOUS and thick nests of brightly burnished, curled and curved silver wires very aesthetically set on a CABINET matrix plate of solid acanthite from a recent find at the Imiter Mine of Morocco. The silver wires in the dispersed nests are a marvel to behold.
3.5 x 2.2 x 0.8 cm. A gorgeous, floral-like cluster of curled and curved silver wires from the famous Sarbai Mine of Kazakhstan. This aesthetic, two-sided specimen has multiple "caps" of cubic, black acanthite crystals and a beautiful patina, which add pizzazz. Kazakhstan silvers compare very favorably with Kongsberg and German wire silvers, but at CONSIDERABLY less cost.
5.4 x 3.7 x 2.8 cm. A CLASSIC, OLD-TIME wire silver specimen from the famous mines at Pribram, Czech Republic. Beautiful, nicely burnished, curved and curled silver wires and acanthite fill a see-through vug in a breccia-like matrix on this very showy old-timer from the Richard Hauck Collection. This fine piece must be around 100 years old or older, even though we have no proof. Classic material from this famous locality.
6.7 x 6.0 x 4.0 cm. A SHOWY and SOLID, 3-dimensional nest of spinel-twinned silver crystals from Batopilas, Mexico. This is very rich, classic material with a very nice patina. Comes with an older label and I believe that this piece predates the early 1980s bonanza of Batopilas silvers of more gracile, less massive, form. WEIGHT is hefty at 136 grams. Ex. John Durkos and George Elling Collections.
4.9 x 3.8 x 3.4 cm. These half-breeds combining native copper and silver in a single specimen are sought-after by collectors. This one is primarily copper, but you can see areas of silver mixed in with it. It was evidently a knob sticking into a pocket, as it has been sawn off flat on the bottom so it sits up nicely. From the collection of noted California collector Charles Hansen.
7.8 x 5.4 x 3.9 cm. A stunning specimen of Michigan copper and silver together in one specimen, that we will not call a "half-breed" here because the copper and silver are not densely intermixed, but simply intergrown and still distinctive rather than an amalgam/mix. And, this is so much more AESTHETIC than the usual half-breed, for many reasons. First, the copper has this gorgeous jagged form, and on top of that, is IRIDESCENT! It contrasts beautifully with the shiny silver, which has actually formed crude crystals instead of the usual "lump" upon massive copper most half-breeds come as.
3.5 x 2.4 x 1.3 cm. This is a natural "half-breed" nugget, combining what appears to be just about equal parts of native copper and silver. These half-breeds are Michigan classics, and prized by collectors. From the notable California collection of Charles Hansen.
8.4 x 8.3 x 1.6 cm. A big, rich, thick slice of native silver intergrown with quartz, from the rich (in MANY minerals) Langis Mine in Canada. There is very little quartz here - this is mostly solid silver, and it is a wonder it did not get sent to the crusher. A really cool example of what a rich sliver vein looks like, right out of the mine – weighs a HEFTY 9.1 ounces and again, mostly silver!
4.1 x 2.6 x 1.3 cm. A SUPERB, ULTRA-RARE and very showy combination specimen from the famous and now-closed Tsumeb Mine. Lustrous, nicely burnished silver crystals and gemmy, emerald-green cuprian adamite microcrystals are RICHLY and aesthetically scattered on massive sulfide matrix coated with yellow-green ferrilotharmeyerite, an ULTRA-RARE hydrated arsenate, with Tsumeb being the Type Locality. This combination is RARELY seen from Tsumeb and SELDOM in this quality. From the upper oxidized zone of this famous locality. Ex Rob Smith Collection, a noted Tsumeb specialist.
5.2 x 3.6 x 2.8 cm. Typically the Silver specimens from Bolivia are somewhat "flat" and boring, but this piece is amazingly aesthetic for a Bolivian Silver. It is a fine, decent-sized (for this mine) group of crystalline Silver forming a very attractive specimen. This is a great miniature specimen from a classic Bolivian locality, but please note that this specimen is FRAGILE, so it must be handled carefully. The mine at Porco is THE oldest and most significant Silver mine in Bolivia, and obtaining specimens is next to impossible because miners rarely bring out anything for sale, as the mine is a large commercial production, and virtually everything goes into the crusher. Most everything that evades the crusher is usually taken out of Bolivia by a geologist who has an "in" at the mine, or sometimes some brave miners risk losing their jobs by sneaking out a handful of specimens to raise a little extra money to feed their families. It is very difficult to obtain any good Silvers from Porco. Ex. Brian Kosnar.
14.0 x 8.5 x 4.0 cm. A gorgeous and LARGE (6.5 inches tall!) silver specimen from this classic locality that looks like a cluster of striking snakes, coiled together. For size, it just bowls you over. Moreover, it is very beautiful not just for the overall form, but because it has a unique patina of minute bornite and chalcopyrite crystals that gives it a "sparkle" in person. It is very different in aspect, thus, from what you normally see. Ex. Dr. Edward David Collection.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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share specimen![Silver, Calcite from Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway [db_pics/mdpics/MD-158648a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-158648a.jpg)
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![Silver from Příbram, Central Bohemia Region, Bohemia (Böhmen; Boehmen), Czech Republic [db_pics/mdpics/MD-160381b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-160381b.jpg)
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![Copper, Silver from Adventure mine, Greenland, Ontonagon Co., Michigan, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-162626a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-162626a.jpg)
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