Interesting Pyrites

A group of interesting little pyrites.  While not especially expensive, I thought they were interesting or cute enough to merit being posted, even though they are not necessarily the show pieces of the previous update.  I combed through thousands pieces that a dealer had been accumulating from various purchases over a period of a couple years. After about a 1.5 hours and some cut up fingers, I had put together a decent lot. Upon returning home, I went through my selections again to narrow down a few that I thought were particularly interesting for one reason or another. 


I think what struck me most, is that in contrast to a bulk lot of (for example) quartz crystals were 90% just look like standard quartz, these pyrites showed a lot of variation in habit and appearance— the more I looked, the more interesting stuff seemed to pop up.  With that said, I am going to try my best to limit myself to 3-4 pictures of each one, or this could become a very very long page.  


I thought this would be a fun update, and I figured, instead of just going on Etsy or somewhere else to become someone’s “pocket rock”, they have a chance at a better life with you more serious people.  Many of these would actually look quite “fancy” on one of the 1” or 2” bases 


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RESERVED
22SP01 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
7.6x 5.3 3.0 cm

A very unusual pyrite-- the back looks like a pair of striated cubes overgrown by a second generation of modified cubic crystals, from the front it looks like flattened/ etched triangles/ (octahedrons?).  A couple areas of damage on the back, regardless its a very unusual piece!









RESERVED
22SP02 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.3x 4.3x 3.2 cm

A luster of striated pyrite crystals with a very sculpturally stacked appearance. 









22SP03 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.0x 3.3x 3.0 cm
$72

A very lustrous and sharp crystal-- this one seems to be an icosahedron.  It seems to be a floater (or nearly one) the back is etched. Really quite beautiful--it looks more like something from Merelani









22SP04 Pyrite on Quartz
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.8x 3.5x 2.0 cm
$20

A cute little specimen of pyrite on quartz. As is typical with these, a couple of the pyrites have natural fractures.  The quartz is complete on the back too. 







22SP05 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
8.5x 7.0x 4.0 cm
$100

A cluster of pyrite crystals, from the front it looks triangular, like some sort of a flattened octahedron and from he bak it looks like a cluster of cubes with dodecahedral and octahedral modifications. 









22SP06 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.5x 3.8x 1.9 cm
$44

A flattened cluster of striated pyrite crystals studded with a second generation of smaller crystals. Etched on the back. 







22SP07 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.1x 2.6x 2.5 cm
$30

A very beautiful little cluster of bright pyrite crystals, with the main crystal nicely perched above the rest. What looks like damage is mostly just etching, the high reflectivity tends to accentuate any surface flaws. Very cute little piece in person-- put it on a 1x1 inch base and it would look like something special. Contacted bottom. 









22SP08 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.2x 2.8x 2.5 cm
$34

A nice, chunky little pyrite crystal. A couple minor spots of damage, it looks to be a floater (or nearly one)







22SP09 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.5x 2.5x 2.1 cm
$30

A cute stacked cluster of pyrite crystals A bit of contacting on the back, this one really does display quite well.... better than the pictures. Put this on a plastic base and you will probably like the result.









22SP10 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
2.7x 2.5x 1.9 cm
$18

A cute pair of stacked crystals from Huanzala. Appears to be a floater. 







22SP11 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.5x 2.7x 2.2 cm
$29

A neatly arranged cluster of dodecahedrons with interesting striations and growth faces. Another one that would look "fancy" on a 1" base.











22SP12 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
7.2x 4.3x 4.0 cm
$76

From one side, it looks like it might be a pair of intersecting cubes. From the other side, I have no idea what you would call it.  Very interesting faces!

It also seems to have pyrite overgrowths on sphalerite, kind of odd. 







22SP13 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
9.0x 75x 4.7 cm
$78

A standard cluster of pyrite-- I just found the overall shape to be somewhat pleasing. 







22SP14 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
2.4x1.8x 1.7 cm
$18

A cute little thumbnail, with the main crystal reasonably well isolated and perched above a cluster of smaller crystals. 









22SP15 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.6x 3.4x 2.5 cm
$38

A slightly flattened dodecahedral pyrite crystal. There is something quite satisfying about its chunkiness. There are a couple embedded octahedrons, just to make it a little weirder. 









22SP16 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.7x 2.5x 2.2
$56

A nice reference sample of pyrite octahedrons. There are a couple angles from which this does not look like a $56 rock-- pic your favorite side, glue it on a base and the results are quite nice. 









22SP17 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.1x 2.5x 1.8 cm
$18

A pair of bright, stacked pyrite crystals. Etched on the back displays only from one side. Would look good on a 1" base. 







22SP18 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
2.8x 2.5x 2.2 cm
$22

A cute cluster of crystals-- the smaller crystal seems to have the contact, so it is best positioned as a pedestal for the bigger one. Would also look good on a 1" base. 









22SP19 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.2x 4.7x 3.4 cm
$42

From the front this looks like a striated partial cube, the back just has smooth, highly reflective faces. Both sides are studded with sphalerite balls. Couple spots of damage, notably on the back corner. 







22SP20 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.4x 1.9x 1.7 cm
$33

A little stalactite of pyrite crystals-- or perhaps it's just a "stacked floater cluster" because I can't quite seem to find the point of attachment.....which I suppose would be essential for a stalactite to form. 









22SP21 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.2x 4.2x 3.5 cm
$68

A nice cluster of pyrite crystals with interesting surface features, including striations and trigons. 









22SP22 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.8x 4.4x 1.7 cm
$33








22SP23 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.0x 4.0x 3.0 cm
$68

A nice cluster of bright pyrite crystals, displays from multiple angles.











22SP24 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.5x 3.2x 3.1 cm
$68

A cluster of pyrite crystals, with interesting surface features including trigons and striations. it seems to be a floater. 









22SP25 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
6.3x 3.0x 2.4 cm
$66

A interesting stacked cluster of semi-flattened pyrite crystals. 









22SP26 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.1x 3.x 3.8 cm
$66

A nice cluster of pyrite crystals, with the main crystal prominently positioned over the smaller ones. 











22SP27 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.0x 2.7x 3.0 cm
$26

A nice cluster of stacked pyrite crystals with striated faces.









22SP28 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.2x 2.5x 2.5 cm
$46

A nice cluster of stacked pyrite crystals. It has one or two particularly good display angels.  











22SP29 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.8x 2.3x 2. cm
$20

A floater cluster of pyrite crystals. Interesting mixture of surface textures and lusters.  









22SP30 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.9x 4.4x 4.0 cm
$48

A very sculptural pyrite-- at least to me, it gives the impression of a cubic crystal that's starting to separate into multiple crystals that are slowly floating away. If this description seems ridiculous, it's because the pyrite really isn't normal.... There are little chips here and there, this one is hard to really convey properly in the images, because of the three dimensionality of the piece, and the fact that each side is so different.







22SP31 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.2x 4.1x 2.0 cm
$38

An interesting pyrite crystal, less for the crystal itself than for the odd black coating. It's somewhat splotchy on the front, and the matte black contrasts very unusually with the mirror-like pyrite beneath. The back (while not properly crystalized) is also coated with the same stuff. 







22SP32 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.6x 4.4x 4.1 cm
$48

A group of very lustrous pyrite crystals, this one has a group of larger ones nicely facing forward, that made it stand out a bit more from the usual nondescript clusters. 







22SP33 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.5x 2.9x 1.6 cm
$24

A cute little cluster of matte pyrite octahedrons. 







22SP34 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.2x 2.4x 2.7 cm
$46

A nice reference sample of an octahedral pyrite with cubic modifications.  This one has the main crystal nicely situated on a pillar of crystals.  There is some unsightly etching (I think it's etching and not damage) not he back so it only displays from the front.  It looks really good from that one angle, but because it is not a 360 degree specimen it is not nearly as expensive, 









22SP35 Pyrite on Quartz
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
6.0x 5.5x 3.0 cm
$48

A nice example of an isolated pyrite crystal on a matrix of tiny quartz crystals mixed with carbonate material. Not perfect, but it is kind of unusual to see such an isolated crystal on matrix that is not just more pyrite. 









22SP36 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
7.0x 4.6x 2.8 cm
$34

A kind of unusual pyrite from Huanzala, I purchased several of these in mixed lots (most were much larger) but I thought that this was a decent reference. Each of the larger dodecahedral faces has a combination of striations and small faces, (and striations that seem to devolve into faces) that gives these an extra sparkly appearance.  Even the color seems a bit more silvery than most other pyrites-- they start to look like something from Julcani rather than Huanzala. 







22SP37 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.9x 2.7 3.1 cm
$68

A nice stacked cluster of octahedral crystals. This one displays well from the front, but because the back is contacted and this is not a 360 degree specimen, it is somewhat cheaper than it would otherwise be. 









22SP38 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.5x 2.8x 2.7 cm
$54

A nice cluster of bright pyrite crystals from an interesting pocket the produced many oft he near floaters in this update. This would look really good on a plastic base! Like many from this pocket, the three dimensionality makes it kind of hard to appreciate in the pictures...











22SP39 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.2x 3.9 3.7 cm
$56

A nice cluster of bright pyrite crystals from an interesting pocket the produced many oft he near floaters in this update. This would look really good on a plastic base! Like many from this pocket, the three dimensionality makes it kind of hard to appreciate in the pictures...











22SP40 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.1x 4.0x 3.5 cm
$38

Not perfect, but just a really weird, oddly architectural cluster of crystals. 









22SP41 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
3.6x 2.3x 2.2 cm
$18

A cute stacked cluster of pyrite crystals.









22SP42 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
5.3x 4.2x 3.7 cm
$68

An interesting cluster of pyrite crystals. 







22SP43 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
6.0x 5.0x 3.3 cm
$58

A large pyrite crystal studded with many smaller ones. 









22SP44 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.1x 4.0x 2.7 cm
$42

A nice cluster of pyrite crystals from Huanzala.









22SP45 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
4.9x 4.8x 2.8 cm
$58

A nice compound crystal of pyrite, with interesting faces, striations, and a slightly brassy color. 









22SP46 Pyrite
Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Prov., Peru
7.1x 4.0x 2.4 cm
$43

An interesting cluster of octahedrons with cubic modifications-- its kind of a projection of crystals with the larger ones concentrated on one side, and on the top edge. 









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