Silver & Copper halfbreed nugget (old classic)

Item Description

A striking grooved copper knob with a bright patina covers most of the top of the tapered native silver stalk on this sculptural, flattened, very rich 360-degree copper on silver "halfbreed" specimen from one of the historic extinct mines of Michigan's famous Copper Country. The embedded olive-green epidote is a fine contrast and typical accessory. Halfbreeds of this striking style form rarely when molten silver and copper get bound together, without alloying or intermixing. Nuggets like this, so far as I know, only came from alluvial gravels near the old Michigan copper mines. Alternative intergrowths are actually products of the stamp mill. Mill workers picked the halfbreeds off the conveyor belts as the crushed ore went by. See the Michigan article in the 1986 Mineralogical Record Silver-I Special Issue, Vol. 17, No. 1. Halfbreeds are certainly about the most unusual desirable species from Copper Country, along with world-class superb crystallized copper, copper-in-calcite and calcite specimens. This is a classic, old-time and rare halfbreed in this richness of silver with fine rounded form. We suspect this piece is from alluvial gravels. Mass is 105 grams. Valued at $1500-2500.