Wakabayashilite (rare - circa 1900) ex Matioli Coll.

Item Description

The world's finest specimens of wakabayashilite, a rare As-Sb sulfosalt, and the finest US specimens of stibnite come from this long extinct gold-antimony-arsenic mine (gold mining ceased by 1920). Old-time material was known as "hair orpiment", until it was correctly identified only in 1969! Sprays of highly lustrous, golden-yellow, soft fibers, to 1.2 cm, attractively cover the top and part of one side of the sculptural, blocky calcite cleavage. Fragments of blood-red realgar crystals are a classic accent. Old-time, rich specimens, such as this are RARE and are highly desirable. A MUST for the species or locality collector. Ex Forrest Cureton and then Paolo Matioli Collections over the last 30 years or so. Valued at $1500.