Who would have thought that Acanthite could look so good? In the early 21st century, from about 2006 onwards, the Hongda mine in Lingqiu Co., Datong Prefecture, Shanxi Province, China started to turn heads with its well-crystallized Acanthite, but despite some quite large and shapely individual crystals having been found, very few attained world-class status like this one. Ultimately, the reason comes down to aesthethics which are dramatically improved by the combination with bright pinkish-white Native Silver wires. With the Acanthite crystals reaching 2 cm across you have a strong natural basis of quality, and their overall branching aggregated shape, with subtle variations in crystallographic form along the length of the specimen produces a gorgeous display. Laterally, along the specimen, the Acanthite crystals vary from cubic (probably the classic Acanthite pseudomorphs after Argentite), to more flattened and even prismatic crystals. Some of these could be pseudomorphs after other silver sulphides or sulphosalts, and on the back of the specimen there is an indication that some of these other silver species might still be present in their original form. A really captivating silver-bearing specimen and of the highest quality.
