Wulfenite ex Dave Michaels Coll

Item Description

This specimen hosts a balanced and aesthetic, unusually fat crystal of wulfenite. It is a superb for any locale, but particularly Tsumeb where good wulfenites are rare. The crystal measures 2.2 cm wide, 1.5 cm tall, and a ridiculously thick 1.1 cm in depth, and is complete on the backside as well as the front (contacted only on the bottom where it hangs off matrix and was attached). The matrix is a thin, shardy, quartz plate. The fat bottom tapers to a sharp edge, at the top. Despite its exposure, there are only two of the very tiniest of dings, not a ding rather but a micro-ding, on the whole razor-sharp edge. Such fat wulfenites are more typical of Congo and now Kaokoveld in Namibia, but Tsumeb wulfenites have more tendedncy to be gracile and slender. Also, the rich butterscotch color is exceptional. The crystal, lastly, is translucent. This is one of the finer Tsumeb miniatures I have had, and is a unique habit, very differrent from a wulfenite from other locales. It comes from the Irv Brown and David Michaels collections (Brown purchased circa early 1990s from the dispersing collection of Ann Williams, which included the collection of the late dealer Scott Williams). Valued $2500-ish