Muscovite (fine specimen) (ex David Burgess Collection)

Item Description

Muscovite specimens from this old New England quarry are certainly few and far between these days, and with that said, I feel confident in saying that this is the BEST example of this material that we've ever had to offer in the auctions. Not only is it a fine quality, well-formed, group, but it's THICK! The thickness of the specimen is 5.4 cm (over 2 inches), which is incredibly hard to find from any quarry in New England. For the most part, the piece is in great shape, as its crystallized all the way around, and doesn't show any major damage, just some superficial roughness in areas. Despite our best efforts, it's quite difficult to get any light to pass through the piece due to its thickness, but the beautiful soft greenish-grey metallic color around the exterior which surrounds the nearly black center of the specimen is still colorful enough to make the piece stand out. Textbook hexagonal form and the sheer robust nature of the specimen make it a prize worth owning for any fan of New England / Connecticut minerals or worldwide Mica specimens. Valued at $950 for the sheer size and quality. From the worldwide collection of David Burgess (1951-2016) with an accompanying label from the John Hiller collection of John Hiller. David was a prolific species collector from Newington, Connecticut, and the namesake for the extremely rare cobalt arsenate species Burgessite, which he discovered.