Hessite in sharp, finely crystallized specimens is one of the great rarities of the mineral world, and of silver species within it. Hessite in good quality ONLY came, in this size and sharpness, from a few small finds in the old days of European mineralogy (I have seen many specimens with labels to the early 1800s). This superb large thumbnail is one of the better examples you might find, and one of only a handful I have seen for sale of this quality over my 35 years in business to date. They ONLY come from old collections, quite literally. This piece came to Bill and Sharon Panczner as a gift from dealer Vivienne Dosse (of California) from her parents' mineral collection of European silver species, going back to the late 1800s; and was given as a gift to the Panczners after their wedding, when they started aggressively exhibiting thumbnails together in the 1960s. It has literally been packed up and missing for over 30 years, until we found the collection and purchased it. With robust, important crystals, this is a stunning example of an ultimate rarity.