Stephanite (old classic material - 1800s)

Item Description

Stephanite is a beloved silver sulfosalt species, named after Archduke Stephen of Austria of the Habsburg family. Specimens from old European localities are not only classics, but sought after and desirable for certain collectors. This full cabinet sized piece features attractive little metallic lead-grey colored crystals of Stephanite measuring up to about 4 mm, on oxidized matrix from the famed Jáchymov area in the Czech Republic, one of the most historic silver districts in Europe. From the worldwide collection of David Burgess (1951-2016) with a label from noted rare species dealer Josef Vajdak that states the piece was collected in the 19th Century! David was a prolific species collector from Newington, Connecticut, and the namesake for the extremely rare cobalt arsenate species Burgessite, which he discovered.