Silver xls (rare form) Dr. B. Phillips Coll.

Item Description

A remarkable and rare two-sided crystallized silver plate from this gabbro quarry, where a narrow vein of calcite-barite-quartz hosts an assemblage of Co-Ni-Bi-Ag-U minerals. This dramatically sculptural piece has either a biomorphic look, head with legs and an unusual growth on the back or a skewed arborescent shape, depending on the orientation. The striking bright side is composed of spinel-twins, subhedral crystals and globular silver clusters. The brighter spinel-twins really stand out on the darker colored coated silver back and the piece of massive quartz on one "leg" is a nice accessory. The darker coating has a lustrous shimmer and may be native Arsenic or Lollingite, a Fe-arsenide. Most silver specimens from here are sheets or hackly, with a few rare fine silver wires found. A surreal, exceptional and RARE large crystallized silver from the locale from the Dr. Barrat Phillips Collection. See Page 7 of The Mineralogical Record, Vol. 17, January-February, 1986 for a description of the locale. 85 grams mass. Value??