large Spinel-twinned Silver & Safflorite (Durkos and Hauck Coll.)

Item Description

A dramatic and sculptural, large silver specimen from this less well-known and extinct Cobalt silver mine. The striking, boot-shaped, quartz matrix is nearly covered front and back with crystallized silver and spherical aggregates of dark gray safforite microcrystals (copper-iron-nickel arsenide). The scattered sharp spinel-twin clusters in classic herringbone patterns are supremely eyecatching, especially the top of the "boot" on one side. Much of the rest of the bright silver has a hackly form. Specimens of this size and quality are extremely rare from this obscure locale. It came through the noted John Durkos Collection to the Robert Hauck silver collection. The Durkos Collection was the largest and most comprehensive private collection of Cobalt silvers put together to my knowledge. Durkos lived in the silver district and made it known he would buy fine specimens for cash, which he did for over 40 years from the 1950s til his death. A major old Canadian piece, here! 1079 grams or over 2.3 pounds of nearly pure silver here! Rich silver ore. Valued $3000 for size, weight and fine fine crystallization.