Detailed information
Species
Marcasite
Dimensions
55 x 57 x 21
mm
Locality
Cap Blanc-Nez Nord-Pas-de-Calais France
Condition
No recorded repairs
Beautifully crystallised, metallic, silvery-golden crystals of Marcasite form a roughly 3.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 cm cluster at the crest of a creamy-white chalk matrix. It is from the occurrence at Cap Blanc-Nez near the coastal hamlet of Escalles, southwest of Calais, France. The Marcasite forms as equant, flattened pyramidal and interpenetrant trigonal crystals of up to 1.2 cm wide, all with a bright metallic lustre. Cap Blanc-Nez, situated 13 km east of the centre of Calais, is a coastal outcrop where the high chalk cliffs meet the English Channel. A fine example of Marcasite, with no damage, from this famous French locality.