Description/Interesting Notes:
A rare example of native silver from Butte!!! This specimen was recently acquired in an old collection and was labelled as "silver ore" from the
Moulton Mine!!! The piece had years of dust covering it, however after a quick bath I was shocked to see how much silver was visible on the surface of the specimen!!!
Native silver specimens from Butte are quite scarce indeed!!! The specimen has been cut and lightly polished on one side, however the great majority of the
metallic mineral showing is pyrite!!! On the outer surface of the specimen there are numerous nodules of pyrite in intimate association with native silver!!!
The pyrite almost appears to be coated by a thin layer of silver upon close examination!!! The silver is also included in the quartz as well, present as both tiny silver
masses and as dark grayish black veinlets!!! Since the silver is present only as very thin coatings on the pyrite, it does not show up well on the cut surface - however upon close examination with a loupe one
can see tiny areas of silver!!! Clearly the original owner of this specimen saw the silver exposed on the surface and
imagined how great it might look cut and polished - I would imagine that if it
were actually polished to a fine polish that the very fine pieces of native silver would become more apparent as well!!!
Upon close examination this is a rather rich example of native silver indeed!!! This is a very intruiging Butte specimen for so many reasons - it is a very
interesting specimen indeed!!! The pics hardly do it justice!!! Must be seen in person to be fully appreciated!!!
Good luck and be sure to check out my other exciting mineral auctions on ebay!!!
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