Pyrochroite crystals! (formerly Baeckstrumite)

Item Description

Originally, this material was named Backstromite which is a synonym for Hydrohausmanite, and the original "Hydrohausmannite" was a pseudomorph of Pyrochroite containing Feitknechtite and Hausmannite. You can read about the two archaic species names at the following links: http://www.mindat.org/min-9165.html and http://www.mindat.org/min-9166.html. This specimen features remarkably large and well crystallized prismatic "blades" of semi-metallic black Pyrochroite in a semi-radial "spray". It is argualy the best I've seen for the species from Langban. The piece comes with an old hand-written label, I'm presuming dates before 1900. The piece is valued at $2,000, for quality, size and rarity.