Berthierite (iridescent crystals)

Baia Sprie Mine (Felsobanya Mine), Maramures Co., Romania
Ex. Al Kidwell
Cabinet, 9.9 x 4.7 x 3.8 cm
Start Time: 03/02/2023 7:00:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 03/09/2023 6:45:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $399

Item Description

Here we have a beautiful old-time Berthierite specimen from one of the great old European localities. This piece is from the classic Baia Sprie Mine (Felsobanya Mine) in Romania and features dozens of acicular, silvery-grey needles of Berthierite with a notably eye-catching iridescence on the surface, surrounded by white trigonal crystals of Calcite on matrix. A wonderful example of this rare and classic material from a locality that was mined continuously from the 14th century until 2006. PLEASE NOTE: This specimen was originally and erroneously labeled as Stibnite, which was a common mistake back in the day for this material, as it is chemically similar to Berthierite. For reference, Berthierite is a rare iron antimony sulfosalt and not often found in good crystallized specimens. In 1827 the species was named after Pierre Berthier a chemist from France, and mineralogist at the Ecole des Mines. From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974 ( https://www.mindat.org/photo-326405.html ).

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$399 03/09/2023 6:21:10 pm (CST)
$389 03/09/2023 6:21:10 pm (CST)
$369 03/09/2023 6:20:05 pm (CST)
$359 03/09/2023 6:20:05 pm (CST)
$349 03/09/2023 6:19:27 pm (CST)
$339 03/09/2023 6:19:27 pm (CST)
$313 03/09/2023 5:08:01 pm (CST)
$303 03/09/2023 5:08:01 pm (CST)
$279 03/09/2023 5:07:35 pm (CST)
$269 03/09/2023 5:07:35 pm (CST)
$169 03/09/2023 12:07:08 pm (CST)
$159 03/09/2023 12:07:08 pm (CST)
$121 03/09/2023 9:19:05 am (CST)
$111 03/04/2023 4:00:18 pm (CST)
$101 03/04/2023 11:41:59 am (CST)
$100 03/04/2023 11:41:59 am (CST)
$91 03/04/2023 11:41:46 am (CST)
$81 03/04/2023 11:41:46 am (CST)
$71 03/04/2023 11:41:37 am (CST)
$61 03/04/2023 11:41:37 am (CST)
$51 03/02/2023 9:33:30 pm (CST)
$46 03/02/2023 9:33:30 pm (CST)
$10 03/02/2023 9:11:20 pm (CST)