Covellite (classic material)

Item Description

When it comes to the cupper sulfide Covellite, Butte, Montana gets most of the attention when it comes to fine specimens from the USA. With that said, I'll be that most people don't realize that perhaps the largest and finest Covellites were actually found in Summitville, Colorado. The Colorado School of Mines has a Covellite specimen on display with individual crystals that measure many inches across ! (see http://trinityminerals.com/denver2012/DSC00792.JPG). Here we have a good representative piece of Covellite featuring classic, bladed crystals which have the distinctive iridescent blue-purple hue for the species, with some pinkish and silvery-golden tones mixed in. For the size of the crystals, this is certainly a worthwhile specimen of Covellite from this classic Colorado locality, but it's not pristine, as there is some roughness in areas. Still a good-sized and attractive example of these beauties from Summitville. Valued $950.
From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".