RC21-23
Liroconite
Wheal Gorland, St Day United Mines, Gwennap area, Cornwall, England (TYPE LOCALITY )
Miniature, 4.4 x 4.2 x 3.0 cm
Ex. Smithsonian Institution
$9,000.00 Payment Plan Available
Order Now

Liroconite is a very rare copper species found in upper oxidized zones of just a few deposits, most notably this TYPE LOCALITY deposit in England, circa early to mid 1800s. I am told that all good specimens we see today came out of the ground by the 1870s at latest. Specimens of this size and richness are very scarce on the market. They only come up in old collections, and even then are few and far between. Frankly, I buy every good one I can lay hands on for their beauty, uniqueness, and importance as historic pieces. This specimen has both the rare green liroconite, and more typical blue color. The cluster of green crystals, individually to 4mm, is 1.4 cm across. The richness and quality of these crystals is extremely high and such specimens are hard to find at any price today (though lesser ones, often priced $5000-10,000 anyhow simply as "representative specimens!," sometimes crop up and were present at the Munich show with a prominent English dealership). This piece was formerly in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Given the association and style of the specimen, it almost certainly has kernowite on it as well (not analysed or raised in price because of that).

Video on Instagram