Azurite (Easter Pocket!)

Item Description

Tsumeb is arguably the greatest locality in the history of mineral collecting, and has produced hundreds of mineral species, most of which are the finest examples ever found. One of, if not THE most famous find at the mine was the famed Easter Pocket of 1994 which produced some of the most iconic Azurites from any discovery at this prestigious mine. If nothing else, there is not debate that this find (which took place on the 8 Level), was the last major discovery at Tsumeb. This piece is a superb large miniature / small cabinet featuring a rather thick, lustrous, sharp, well-formed, tabular crystal group of Azurite with deep midnight blue color, free of matrix. These are certainly some of the largest crystals we've had to offer from this iconic discovery, and they are largely in very good condition, though the smaller crystal on the front of the piece has a ding on the back of termination (you can't really seen it from the display side) so it's not completely pristine. If the piece were perfect, I could easily see this one in the $15,000+ range, but due to the damage that number has to be a bit less. Still an impressive and imposing specimen from one of the most desirable and sought after discoveries at this amazing locality.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3039. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information