Pyromorphite (classic material)

Item Description

When it comes to European classics, the famous old Pyromorphites from the Friedrichssegen Mine are certainly among the best ever found. It should be noted that for many years, collectors and dealers would refer to these old classic Pyromorphite as coming from "Bad Ems", which is about 5 km away from the actual mine. In fact, if you look at the locality listing now on mindat.org, Bad Ems isn't even included in the locality listing anymore. These piece are certainly some most well-known and celebrated examples of the species ever found. Many people think that the Friedrichssegen Mine is the type locality for Pyromorphite, but it's actually the lesser known Zschopau area in Saxony where the species was first discovered. This piece is a wonderful thumbnail sized example of this beloved material featuring excellent, sharp, lustrous smoky-brown to pinkish-brown colored hexagonal prismatic crystals measuring up to about 6 mm forming a three-dimensional and graceful overall specimen. The piece comes to us from the collection of Richard "Rich") A. Kosnar, the famous mineral dealer and collector from Colorado, (the namesake for the phosphate species Kosnarite), who loved classic European minerals like this. This piece is at least 130 years old, and the earliest reports of the mine that I can find date back to the 1860s, so the piece could well be over 150 years old. A lot of these specimens will be riddled with tiny nicks all over, and this one is certainly better by comparison, with only a few small imperfections I can see on the front/display side. These piece are few and far between, and are treasured as some of the most beloved Pyromorphites from Europe. A wonderful and beautiful piece of this famous material.