Description
Detailed Description
Great, finely-articulated stack of acanthite crystals (pseudomorphs after argentite) – this one is comprised of many terminations! In excellent condition, a couple of the crystals at the narrow end of the stack are incomplete. This one shows the stacked growth and 90-degree nature of the clustering very well.
About These Acanthites
Well-crystallized acanthite has never been common and most of the known localities for crystals are historic, making it difficult, and usually expensive, to obtain fine specimens. The finds at Imiter (Africa’s largest silver mine) in recent years have placed it among the world’s best localities for crystallized acanthite. Although these crystals formed as argentite, argentite is not stable below 179C, at which point it changes to monoclinic acanthite. The specimens are acanthite pseudomorphs after argentite, retaining the isometric crystal form of the original argentite crystals. I assembled this lot of acanthites over a period of about two years. Most of these specimens, from the 2008 find, remained in Morocco until 2013.