Cerussite with Cuprite var. Chalcotrichite inclusions

Item Description

This gorgeous piece represents the rarest of the rare of beautiful Tsumeb mineral combinations, highly desired by collectors. Thumbnails of this rare find from the 1970s can be found on market time to time, usually sell for thousands already, and yet this is a miniature! Chalcotrichite, the fibrous, red variety of Cuprite, has totally included very well formed, lustrous and translucent crystals of Cerussite in this super colorful miniature from Tsumeb. A complex, 3.5 cm bright orange-red Cerussite crystal is host to a myriad of microscopic, bright red needles of Cuprite var. Chalcotrichite in this stunning piece. I am told that they were only found twice in the mine, for the last time during the early 1970s. Exceptional specimens like this that are more than just smears of color are exceedingly rare and hard to obtain, and treasured by the Tsumeb collectors who have them. This stunning piece from the Pohl collection is one of the finest (and largest) miniature examples I have seen amidst handling a number of major Tsumeb and thumbnail collections over the years. It is very elegant, shows classic cerussite morphology, is super colorful and presents exceptionally! It is in superb condition. It has intense strong color, not pale. You can see it glow from across a room. This should be valued minimally at $12,500, as a guideline. We have recently seen smaller pieces, of lesser color, for sale at Tucson with Tsumeb specialist dealers for $5000 and more, and this is perhaps 5-6 times the mass of a thumbnail that might sell for such a price. It is a large, colorful example for what it is, and perhaps a last chance to acquire one any bigger than 2 cm, for most collectors. Something like this will probably be unavailable again in the collecting lifetime of most of us.