Acanthite (classic material)

Item Description

A highly sculptural, dramatic and classic specimen from the famed Fresnillo area in Mexico featuring intergrown, pseudo-cubic (the crystals are actually monoclinic), metallic, silvery-black Acanthite, free of matrix. The piece is very close to being a complete "floater", as it's crystallized all over, with only a few small points of attachment I can see. The eye-catching skeletal or "hoppered" growth of the crystals is beautiful to view up close, and the overall form of the piece create a notably showy display specimen. The largest crystal measures roughly 7 mm on edge. You might see these pieces labeled as a pseudomorph of Acanthite after Argentite, but they are technically paramorphs as Acanthite will actually transform into Argentite in an environment where the temperature reaches above 177° Celsius, but they are not pseudomorphs.
Valued $2,000.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#79 MX), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection through our various platforms.