phosgenite (w. cerussite)

TSNB604

Specimen

Exhibit 1. Phosgenite (w. cerussite); 25 mm.
Exhibit 1. Phosgenite (w. cerussite); 25 mm.
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Exhibit 2. Specimen label (USNM).
Exhibit 2. Specimen label (USNM).
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Exhibit 3. Specimen label (Lidstrom's).
Exhibit 3. Specimen label (Lidstrom's).
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Exhibit 4. Specimen label (Bill Pinch).
Exhibit 4. Specimen label (Bill Pinch).
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
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Title

phosgenite (w. cerussite)

Principal Mineral

Phosgenite

Size

Thumbnail; 25mm

Location in the Mine

First oxidation zone

Collection

MGMH 2020.7.689

Provenance

Bosch, C.; USNM(Smithsonian); Lidstrom, W.; Pinch, W.W.

Entry Type

Specimen TSNB604

Description

Essentially a single prismatic crystal of chocolate-brown phosgenite with a smaller sidecar crystal and a little matrix at the base, and a broken cerussite crystal attached close to the termination. The crystal shows characteristic amber internal reflections when backlit.

The specimen belonged originally to German collector Carl Bosch (1874-1940; specimen number 10545) which dates it unequivocally to Tsumeb's first oxidation zone. The Bosch Collection was sold to the Smithsonian in the late 1960s (Exhibit 2) but this specimen was subsequently traded out of the Smithsonian and passed through the Lidstroms dealership (Exhibit 3) and thence to the Pinch Collection (Exhibit 4).

Associated Minerals

cerussite