Ferberite

Tasna Mine, Cerro Tasna, Nor Chichas Prov., Potosí, Bolivia
Cabinet, 11.8 x 9.7 x 4.4 cm
Start Time: 02/23/2023 7:30:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 03/02/2023 7:10:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $460

Item Description

Here we have a hard to find full cabinet sized specimen of Ferberite from the famous Tasna Mine in Southern Bolivia. This species was sometimes previously referred to as "Wolframite", which was supposed to be an intermediary species between Ferberite and Hubnerite, but has since been discredited. This specimen was mined in 2000 and is one of the best examples in this size range that we've seen from the locality. It is loaded with dozens of fine quality, sharp, lustrous, jet-black bladed crystals measuring up to 2.8 cm long, sitting atop grey bladed Arsenopyrite matrix, with minor metallic golden Marcasite/Pyrite. The piece is in very good shape, with only a few minor imperfections I can see with the naked eye. It's very hard to get fine quality, undamaged cabinet sized of Ferberite from any locality these days, especially Tasna as the miners do not take care of the crystals, so they're almost always dinged or cleaved. On top of that, the price of tungsten can cause superb crystallized piece to be thrown into the crusher and destroyed for the mere value of their ore. You just don't see these very often anymore, and nothing good has come out of Tasna in several years. Priced in the inventory at $3,750.

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$460 03/02/2023 7:00:06 pm (CST)
$450 03/02/2023 6:59:28 pm (CST)
$447 03/02/2023 6:59:27 pm (CST)
$437 03/02/2023 6:58:39 pm (CST)
$427 03/02/2023 6:58:38 pm (CST)
$416 03/02/2023 6:58:18 pm (CST)
$406 03/02/2023 6:58:17 pm (CST)
$395 03/02/2023 6:54:06 pm (CST)
$385 03/02/2023 6:51:12 pm (CST)
$375 03/02/2023 6:49:20 pm (CST)
$370 03/02/2023 6:49:20 pm (CST)
$349 03/02/2023 6:46:50 pm (CST)
$339 03/02/2023 6:46:50 pm (CST)
$329 03/02/2023 6:46:24 pm (CST)
$319 03/02/2023 6:46:24 pm (CST)
$309 03/02/2023 6:43:26 pm (CST)
$299 03/02/2023 6:43:26 pm (CST)
$289 03/02/2023 6:41:32 pm (CST)
$279 03/02/2023 6:39:51 pm (CST)
$269 03/02/2023 6:38:12 pm (CST)
$259 03/02/2023 4:53:08 pm (CST)
$249 02/24/2023 11:31:49 pm (CST)