Phosgenite (classic locale)

Item Description

The world's finest examples of Phosgenite, Pb-carbonate with a Halide, easily come from the famous and closed Monteponi Mine on Sardinia. Three of the four sides on this very showy partially doubly terminated miniature have classic intergrown adamatine lustre, very glassy, transparent to translucent, smoky tetragonal crystals. The crystal forms on the three sides are striking. The piece displays well from either direction. Mining probably started in the area in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C for argentiferous galena and later zinc ores became important. The Monteponi Mine close in 1997. See the excellent article in the 2014 Mineralogical Record, Vol. 45, No. 6. An excellent, highly representative example of phosgenite from the classic locale for best of species.