Silver large ''leaf'' on matrix

Item Description

This is a rarely seen specimen of Native Silver from the Eisleben area in Saxony featuring a large, foliated "leaf" or "sheet" with a beautiful antique patina, lying on matrix. The piece somewhat reminds me of the more contemporary specimens from the San Martín Mine in Mexico, but this German specimen is many decades older, as it comes with an old hand-written label from Dr. Friedrich Krantz of Bonn, Germany, who died in 1926. Certainly the best example of the material that we've ever had to offer, and I would value it in the $3,000-$4,000 range for size, quality and historic significance.
From the collection of Kurt Hefendehl (#204 D), a well-known German collector all over Europe with worldwide contacts to dealers and collectors. He started collecting seriously at the age of 14 and his great and varied worldwide collection reached over 6000 pieces. He was very active mineralogically until shortly before his passing in 2020 at the age of 82. Considering his collection had a large number of pieces, it still had an unusually high standard of quality from most worldwide localities. He particularly specialized in all classics as well as minerals of the Black Forest, where he spent much time collecting. His Black Forest and German subcollections went to his good friend Wolfgang Wendel. We at The Arkenstone have the privilege of offering the remainder of this great worldwide collection for the foreseeable future through our various platforms.