Galena with Chalcopyrite

Item Description

Dalnegorsk is one of the great specimen-producing localities in the modern era of mineral collecting. Some of the finest crystallized examples of well-known sulfides have come from the various mines in the area for a few decades now. This piece is a gorgeous association specimen featuring superb, well-formed, sharp, silvery-grey colored cuboctahedral crystals of Galena measuring up to 2.7 cm, associated with slightly iridescent, light golden metallic Chalcopyrite crystals. The contrast between these two mineral is stark as the Galena crystals have well-defined, smooth faces, and the Chalcopyrites have an almost "rippled" appearance on the surface. No major damage anywhere on the top/display side of the piece and it just jumps out and grabs you for its sheer visceral beauty. For a "black" rock, it's superbly well-crystallized and is just captivating in person.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 2510. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information