Copper in Gypsum (classic Arizona) - polished

Item Description

Classic, rich, highly desirable and seldom available today, this is a large combination specimen from this well-known open pit and underground Arizona copper mine near Tucson. Rich orange-red micro dendritic copper clusters are richly included in the the gemmy, sculptural large polished gypsum matrix. This is famous material from the Mission Mine. These singular fascinating combination specimens came out in 1979 from the open pit portion of the mine. Very few of this size ever turn up to market anymore, and pieces such as this usually go for $800-1000. It is highly unusual to see copper within gypsum! Old, classic material, immediately recognizable for what it is by any older collector, but we see so few on the market today. Please note that the specimen like nearly all of them, is lightly polished or buffed. These occur as cleavage fragments and masses, seldom as Crystals. The sections are just lightly polished to give it a smooth surface and see the inclusions better