Pyromorphite (old classic material)

Item Description

This toenail sized piece is a wonderful old classic Pyromorphite specimen from what historically is referred to as "Bad Ems", but it's actually about 5 km away from the mine itself. Although "Bad Ems" will still appear on labels today, if you look at the listing for the locality on mindat.org, the name Bad Ems isn't even included anymore. With that said, the best of these specimens are certainly in the highest echelon of Pyromorphites on a worldwide scale as they are some of the 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. The piece comes to us from the collection of Richard Kosnar, the famous mineral dealer and collector (and the namesake for the phosphate species Kosnarite), who loved classic European minerals like this (he actually named his company Mineral Classics in honor of the old European classic minerals). This piece is at least 100 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. This showy and aesthetic display specimen is loaded with excellent, sharp, lustrous smoky-brown to pinkish-brown colored hexagonal prismatic crystals, with the largest composite crystal group measuring about 1.1 cm forming a three-dimensional and graceful overall specimen. The specimen is complete all around and is in great shape overall, but some small imperfections can be seen here and there. These piece are few and far between on the market now, and are treasured as some of the most beloved Pyromorphites from Europe. Don't miss out on this wonderful, historic and beautiful piece of this famous material.