Cuprite var: Chalcotrichite

Item Description

Bisbee is one of the great copper producing districts, not only in Arizona, but all of the United States. Not only was it rich in copper ores, but it was also a source of some of the most iconic mineral specimens from any locality in the entire country. This piece is a beautiful miniature sized specimen of the fibrous variety of Cuprite, Chalcotrichite featuring bright metallic red acicular crystals on oxidized matrix. The Chalcotrichites look fantastic under magnification and we've photographed them with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality. A beautiful piece from this classic locality.
From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#12,750). This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.