Gold with OPAL (ex Rich Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

How often does one find Wire Gold specimens, let alone associated with OPAL!? This exceptionally rare, unsual and rich association specimen is from the Blue Bird mine, which is just southeast of Cripple Creek in Colorado. The piece features several very small, micro "wires" of Gold which are coated by gemmy, spherical aggregates of colorless/white/grey Opal ("Hyalite"), and are associated with Chalcopyrite crystals that are coated with Tetrahedrite. The reverse side of the specimen has minor crystals of well known Telluride, Sylvanite along with Dolomite, Celestine, light purple Fluorite, and a small vug with micro reddish-brown spherical aggregates of an unknown mineral. There are at least NINE species on this specimen. To find Gold with Opal is rather uncommon in the mineral world, and specimens from this mine are virtually never available for purchase. This piece came from the well-known Colorado collection of Richard A. Kosnar, and his label states that the piece was collected in 1930 by a miner named Wilbur Wassau.