Stibnite (historic, 1800s classic) ex Panczner Coll.

Item Description

A fine, classic, old-time stibnite thumbnail from the renowned and long-closed Ichinokawa Mine of Japan. The bright silver-metallic crystal has interesting variable striated prism faces and an unusually shaped termination. The slight crystal curve adds character. Primary production of these lustrous, silver-gray crystals was from 1875-1900. Antimony was mined in the area from the 7th Century until the Ichinokawa Mine closed in 1957! See the 1988 Mineralogical Record article in Vol. 19, No. 4. Ex Bill and Sharon Panczner Thumbnail Collection, exhibited widely in the 1960s - and just a superb example of a very rare old classic! Bill was the first Curator of Earth Science at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in 1974 and the author of the 1987 book Minerals of Mexico. It is the most thorough summary of the subject. Read about Bill in the Mineralogical Record Biographical Archive at: https://mineralogicalrecord.com/labels.asp?colid=841. Considered the world's finest Stibnites until Romanian and Chinese material came to market. Even then, Japanese Stibnites are considered absolute classics and this is a very fine thumbnail example. While common as a species, this is a special thumbnail specimen that is at a unique level of play.