Detailed information
Species
Native Gold
Dimensions
26 x 33 x 9
mm
Weight
14 g
Locality
Liberty Swauk Mining District, Kittitas County Washington, USA
Condition
Net
Crystallized Native Gold specimens from Liberty in the Swauk Mining District, Kittitas County, Washington are far rarer than other North American occurrences, in part because mining ceased there nearly a generation ago. Although crystals can sometimes be seen in placer (alluvial) gold from the Liberty area the remarkable quality and detail of the crystals on this piece are suggestive of from hard-rock mining of which the Ace of Diamonds mine was the main operation during the 1950s and 1960s. We do not know for certain which mine it came from, but that is certainly the most likely. The quality of crystallization is exceptional but best appreciated under magnification, where the skeletal structure is impressively shown. At 14 g of pure crystallized Native Gold, and 3.3 x 2.6 cm in area, this is without question an important specimen from this district and that is ultimately why it was within the famous Siber and Siber Gold Collection in Switzerland.
