Stibnite (classic material) (ex Dave Bergman Collection)

Item Description

This piece dates back to the late 1970s when there was an important discovery of what are the best Stibnites from any Bolivian locality. Before the specimens came out of the Wuling Mine in China, these Bolivian pieces were some of the best Stibnites to hit the market in a long time. Here we have a gorgeous crystallized "spray" of lustrous, sharp, silvery sword shaped crystals of Stibnite with very minor matrix. It's hard to isolate individual crystals, but the largest one I could measure was 3.0 cm long. Lastly, a couple of the Stibnites show a classic "bent" habit that is often seen in the species. A showy and good quality classic Bolivian Stibnite specimen, rarely seen on the market now. The best of these pieces were imported by Richard Kosnar, and this is a very good representation compared to most we've had to offer, despite some rough spots here and there. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures". Valued at $900 in the inventory.