Tetrahedrite Subgroup with Rhodochrosite on Quartz

Item Description

The Sweet Home Mine is known for producing some of the most impressive Rhodochrosite crystals extant, but there are several other mineral species that are found in fine display specimens, including several sulfides. I could make a case that the best crystals from any mine in Colorado of the Tetrahedrite Subgroup have come from the Sweet Home. Today it's quite rare to find good quality large aesthetic display specimens of any sulfide species from this mine, especially good Tetrahedrites. I will point out that Tetrahedrite is no longer a valid species, as it has been split into several new species, so we're listing this simply as "Tetrahedrite Subgroup", because it's impossible to visually identify each species, it has to be done chemically. This piece hosts many beautiful, sharp, relatively large, sharp, lustrous, grey-black tetrahedral crystals on “needle” Quartz matrix with a few Rhodochrosite rhombs measuring up to 7 mm. Virtually undamaged on the display side, but it is a little rough on the back where it detached from the pocket wall. If you’re a collector of Colorado minerals, or even more specifically, minerals from the Sweet Home mine, this beautiful full cabinet size specimen that would make a great addition to your collection.
Valued $4,000-$5,000
Ex George Loud Collection No. 3241 CO.2; 9021. George (born August 16, 1942) is a well-known mineral collector from Washington, DC and South Carolina respectively, and was a patent lawyer by trade for over 50 years. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the U.S., comprising worldwide specimens, and in later years he sold the worldwide specimens to focus on minerals of the United States, specifically locality suites with an emphasis on amazing representation of species while still maintaining fine quality. The specimens remarkably range from micros to all the way up to large cabinets in size. We recently acquired most of his impressive 9000+ piece collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality specimens for their collections.
See: https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/george-loud for more information