CALAVERITE. 700' level, Portland Mine, Cripple Creek, Cripple Creek District, Teller Co., Colorado, USA. ...

Description

CALAVERITE
700' level, Portland Mine, Cripple Creek, Cripple Creek District, Teller Co., Colorado, USA

As valuable a Gold ore as Calaverite is, it rarely comes with any information as to where in any given mine that the specimen came from. In fact, most of the time, no information about which mine the specimen came from accompanies the piece. There is a very good reason for this: it probably came out in a miners' lunchbox and was quietly traded for credit at the local saloon. This rich specimen was probably "rescued" by the mine manager or owner(s) of the Portland Mine in Cripple Creek. Records show that the Portland Mine produced over 25 million dollars in Gold. It features bladed or lath-like crystals of Calaverite: a Gold Telluride, some of which measure ˜ 4 mm or so, forming a brassy, sparkling crust on the tan wall-rock matrix. The accompanying label has been cut down to obscure the former owner, but the paper and format are consistent with other ones from former dealer/collector: David New.
Overall measurements: 3 x 1.5 x 1 inches (7.6 x 3.8 x 2.5 cm).

Provenance: Western Minerals [Hoppel # D1705]

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