Osmium var. Iridosmine (old - rare)

Item Description

Tiny metallic flakes of iridosmine fill the bottom of the old cork-stoppered test tube on this rare old California example of a very interesting historical object, this! It consists of several hundred 1mm and smaller, platy, placer nuggets of so-called "iridosmine". Pure iridosmine as a species is an iridium-rich osmium. However, this material has been found to have great variety in its makeup from piece to piece and individual nuggets may be nearly pure osmium, pure iridium, or a mix in some proportion. These grains come in a corked vial with its original old seal intact. The label reads " iridosmine - alloy") - because they did not know how to analyses it in detail. These will be a mix of all, and it is a true rarity. an APPROXIMATE volume is just under 1/4 cubic centimeter The old Foote label dates from 1900-1904 and states the Dod Fort District as the locality. Note that we show a similar specimenfrom a previous sale, from the other antique location for osmium placers in Russia: http://www.mineralauctions.com/auctions/june-999-special-reserve-auction-294/iridosmine-in-antique-vial-ex-samuel-ashmead-coll-15006.html. The two specimens are comparable, I would say. Note that the other retains their dealer label, with a $2000 price tag.