DEN11-419
Boleite
Amelia Mine, Santa Rosalia, Baja California, Mexico
Cabinet, 9.5 x 8.9 x 7.0 cm
Ex. Al Ordway
SOLD
Boleite, for its sharp blue cubes and weird silver chemistry, is one of those oddball mineral species that just seems "fake" when you look at them. How can a silver species be blue, and sharply cubic like this, and only come from one place in the world in such quality?! This remarkable large display-sized boleite specimen is something you do not see every day. Al Ordway, the previous owner, got it in turn directly from Ed Swoboda (who is in his 90s now) after the famous find in 1976. This matrix is stabilized on most specimens from that find but NOT on this piece! This piece, in contrast to darn near all the boleite matrix pieces out there, has solid, real matrix and not dried kaolin clay (like mud). The crystals are NOT glued in. These crystals reach 6 mm and there are a lot of them scattered about. Overall, an important and relatively large, display specimen of this very rare silver species. ex Al Ordway collection. Joe Budd photos