Detailed information
Dimensions
65 x 69 x 41
mm
Locality
Hongda Mine, Xiaoqinggou Ag-Mn Deposit Lingqiu Co., Datong Prefecture Shanxi Province, China
Condition
No recorded repairs
The shapely definition of these Acanthite pseudomorphs after cubic Argentite is quite remarkable and presents exceptionally well for a grey mineral. With many of the cubes reaching 1 cm on edge, stacked, in stepped arrangements and corner to corner, this small cabinet-sized specimen presents a fascinating, almost sculptural display, and with its resinous grey metallic lustre it looks almost cast in metal. Not only is it an extremely rich silver sulphide, but it is world-class in its crystal form too, marking an almost perfect example of its cubic crystal shape. It comes from the Hongda mine in Lingqiu Co., Datong Prefecture, Shanxi Province, China where, from 2006, heads started to turn because of its well-crystallized silver minerals, but despite some quite large and shapely individual crystals having been found, very few attained world-class status like this one as a smaller cabinet-sized display specimen. Ex Professor Werner Paar Collection, this is a seriously high-class silver-bearing specimen for the discerning collector.
