Copper included in Calcite (ex. Heck collectio)

Item Description

Copper included calcite is not known from many localities, and this is among the rarest of them. This is old material from the 1960s or before, from Mexico. This matrix specimen features glassy and gemmy, mostly colorless crystals of "nail head spar" calcite, to 2.25 cm in length, which has grown on top of dendritic copper. Some of the copper is invested with an exquisite greenish malachite patina. In a few cases the copper has actually included the calcite, giving the latter a pinkish glow. The calcite fluoresces a beautiful rich orange color, as a bonus. One or two calcite crystals exhibit damage at their terminations but that does not impact the specimen negatively as nearly all others are intact, and it is a relatively large and aesthetic example for this style. This is from the collection of Dick Heck. It was valued at $1800 when we obtained the collection.