COPPER "SKULL". ...

Description

COPPER "SKULL"

Upper Peninsula, Michigan
The mines of the Michigan copper district are centered around the town of Houghton in the 'upper peninsula' of the state. Ore often times consisted of masses of almost pure metal between layers of altered lava and other rocks. The specimen seen here most likely was formed by copper enclosing a rounded stream cobble or a 'pillow' of basalt. Later, when the rock was dissolved by weathering, the copper was left as a hollow form the miners called a "skull". This 'skull' is larger than normal measuring 9 x 8 ½ x 4 inches. Its gleaming metallic interior shows the surface features of the cobble it enclosed in considerable detail. This unusually large example weighs 12.8 pounds. It is from the Richard Hauck Collection but has no label. Ex Hauck Collection.

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