Copper in Calcite (old classic) O. Ivan Lee Coll.

Item Description

Bright copper is richly included in the glassy, well-striated calcite crystals on this sculptural old-time specimen from Copper Country. The impressive large crystal is 3.0 cm tall and you barely notice, that the back of the termination is cleaved - and generally considered acceptable in such rare old classics as this. Most probably date to the 1800s, and were poorrly preserved over time, so we take what we can get these days of this unique find! The cute and pristine doubly terminated crystal perched on the end of "arm" is 1.6 cm. The matrix includes both hackly copper and basalt. Copper in calcites are a classic and highly desirable species from here and this is a very showy and highly representative example from the O. Ivan Lee Collection. He was a prominent East Coast collector who passed away in 1952. Read his biography in the Mineralogical Record Biographical Archive: http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=824. His widow sold the over 10,000 piece collection to George Burnham (Burminco) in 1953.