Gold (UNIQUE WIRES !) on Limonite

Item Description

A beautiful and visually striking (under magnification) large thumbnail sized specimen featuring rarely seen beautiful branching "wires" of Gold on Limonite matrix from Placerville, California.  I think a strong argument can be made that wire Gold is the most sought after habit for the species, as its typically considered the rarest form for Gold from any locality.   Placerville is known for producing a wide variety of habits or "styles" of Gold, but wires are exceptionally hard to find.  This specimen features several small (a few mm) groups comprising rather thin, yet densely packed clusters of Gold wires with a brilliant color and luster.  Upon close inspection you can see that the wires show minor almost dendritic crystalline form on the surface, and some of them actually transition into actual crystallized Gold in certain areas.  There are also some flattened "leaves" on the piece as well, so there are multiple styles present on the piece.  My favorite wire group on the specimen is featured in the first photo, as it has a truly organic appearance, resembling in my mind a group of seaweed roots, but fans of the show Stranger Things or the game Dungeons and Dragons might see a similarity to the Mind Flayer monster.    We took several micro photos with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality of the Gold.  Some of the wire groups are quite similar to the famous "wire patch" Golds from Breckenridge, Colorado, while others honestly remind me of native Silver more than Gold in terms of their physical appearance.  A wonderful specimen with gorgeous form that would make a great addition to any collection of Gold, native elements or minerals of California.   It's difficult to ascertain a fair market value for such a unique and eye-catching piece like this, so if you're a fan of unique Gold specimens, this is something that is seldom seen on the market.