Cuprite with Silver (near "floater" specimen)

Item Description

When it comes to native elements, it's not terribly common to find Copper and Silver together on the same piece (outside of the Michigan of course). With that said, this piece doesn't feature Copper ,but rather copper oxide in the form of Cuprite, it is noteworthy that the piece is associated with Silver which was only seen in small percentage of material from the Rubtsovsk Mine. This piece features dozens of very sharp, euhedral, notably well-formed octahedra of Cuprite (some showing dodecahedral and cubic modifications) measuring up to 9 mm, associated with almost "sponge"-like or semi-dendritic groups of oxidized native Silver. There is no matrix, and the piece is crystallized all the way around, making nearly a complete "floater" were it not for a small point of contact on the reverse side. With some good backlighting, you can see the intense blood red color inside some of these excellent Cuprite crystals. These specimens were plentiful a few years ago, and now have seemed to quickly dried up on the market. These are some of the best crystallized Cuprites extant with their superior form, sharpness and luster. Valued at $900.