Cassiterite (excellent twins) with Muscovite

Item Description

There are three key mineral species found at the Pingwu Mine in China: Beryl, Scheelite and Cassiterite. All three of these minerals are found in exceptionally fine specimens from this iconic locale. The best Cassiterites from this locality could certainly rank as the finest of the species ever found, as they are not only fine quality, but larger than average, and show superb twinned crystal morphology. This piece is a fantastic and showy small cabinet-sized display specimen hosts notably lustrous, incredibly well-formed, jet-black, intergrown twins measuring up to 4.7 cm, with minor associated silvery-beige bladed Muscovite on a small amount of matrix. The main twin is doubly-terminated, sitting aesthetically atop the specimen, and I don't see any damage of note. One of the best and showiest pieces of this material in this size range that I can remember having to offer in the auctions in many years. The old dealer label priced the specimen at $3,500 years ago, but in today's market, it could easily be close to the $10,000 range for the quality, displayability and size of the main twin on the piece.
ATTENTION: We are happy to announce our new book featuring the Jack Halpern collection entitled "Addicted to Beauty", which will be available in March from the Mineralogical Record. The following is an excerpt from Rob Lavinsky from the foreword of the book. "I am honored to have been entrusted with the deaccessioning of Jack Halpern’s famed collection. This book is not only designed to commemorate Jack's minerals, but also the man himself and how he inspired so many of us who are in the hobby today. Regarding the sale of his collection, Jack’s one comment and wish to me and to his family and friends was that we would carry forward his 'Legacy of Beauty' out into the broad world."
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3209. 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