Chalcocite (excellent classic material) (ex Dr. Ed David Collection)

Item Description

Chalcocite isn't necessarily a rare sulfide, but there are honestly only a few localities around the world for really attractive, fine quality, well-crystallized specimens. A lot of the old historic localities for Chalcocite haven't produced specimens in many decades, and the mineral world didn't really see anything new or exciting from anywhere for quite some time. When the Flambeau Mine started producing pieces during the mid 1990s, it really bolstered the supply of fine crystallized pieces for collectors. The locality is finished and although these pieces were well-known and fairly easy to find on the market 20+ years ago, they are incredibly hard to find today. This piece is a very attractive small cabinet featuring many excellent quality, sharp, well-formed, stacked / layered, pseudo-hexagonal (monoclinic) blades of Chalcocite with a classic "peacock"-like patina or "sheen" on the surface (it's actually a small coating of Bornite) which shows flashes of metallic purple, blue and pink. The largest crystal measures 1.7 cm across. There are a few small contacts in a few spots, but the piece is nearly crystallized all the way around, and it sits beautifully on its own without the aid of a base or clay. It's very showy and eye-catching as you can see from the photos/video. Excellent quality, great form, large crystals and that classic iridescence make it a first-rate example of a material that is not seen on the market these days. This piece is from the collection of Dr. Edward ("Ed") David Jr. of Bedminster, New Jersey (1925-2017). Ed among other things, had a doctorate in electrical engineering from MIT, and served from 1970-1973 as the science advisor to President Richard M. Nixon, but he's best known in the mineral world for assembling one of the best private mineral collections in the latter half of the 20th century. Ed had a love and appreciation for a wide range of minerals, and wasn't afraid to collect so-called "black" rocks. The collection number on the piece is 155 M. The label accompanying the specimen states that it was from the collection of Doug Kilpatrick. This piece was priced nearly 30 years ago at $1,500, but it's certainly in the $5,000-$6,000 range fair market value today.