Barite and Marcasite (polished)

Item Description

From the 2011 find, these are rather interesting specimens from this copper mine in western Poland. Essentially, this piece is a polished slice of what formed as a "ball" or radiating aggregate of cream to tan colored semi-amorphous Barite, which was later coated by a secondary layer of coppery-colored Barite and then finished off with a coating of metallic iridescent Marcasite. When these specimens are uncut, they simply look like spherical groups of Marcasite, but the beautiful internal Barite is a pleasant surprise. It's almost like cracking open a geode, as the center of every one of these "balls" will yield a slightly different formation. Additionally, the lighter colored Barite in these specimens will actually fluoresce a bright whitish-green color under UV light. This piece is a less common "cap" which means it has a complete outer crystallization of Marcasite on the reverse side. Very cool, and unlike anything I can remember seeing from any loclaity.