Realgar (Metastibnite) on Calcite (RARE - pre-1910) ex. Robertson

Item Description

Bright rich cherry-red realgar (metastibnite) coats a striking rich cluster of unusual stacked, blocky, hexagonal calcite rhombs, to 1.0 cm, on this VERY RARE and RICH old-time combination specimen from historic St. Andreasberg. The rhombs rest on a layered matrix of calcite and galena. Recent analysis has proven that realgar from here is actually metastibnite. See the Mineralogical Record St. Andreasberg Special Issue, May-June, 2017, Vol. 48, No. 3., Page 392. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 4011 and acquired from Al McGuinness in the mid-1960s. Kay assembled a nice suite of classics and rarities from this famed district. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017). This remains a remarkable, RARE and rich old-time St Andreasberg specimen. Probably from the Abendrothe Mine. The last mine closed in 1910.