BARYTE

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

Baryte from Pöhla are European classics, and for size class, this is a fantastic example. Well-balanced in arrangement, and emplaced on a contrasting white matrix, the two largest crystals are both double terminated, the biggest measuring to 4cm. They're highly lustrous and gemmy, with a rich golden color. The aesthetics are, simply put, superb! This specimen comes from two famous collections, that of Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher (collection #SCH2809) and that of Marty Zinn.

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The Pöhla-Tellerhäuser deposit occurs in Cambro-Ordovician mica schists with skarn-altered metacarbonates along the Gera-Jáchymov fault zone, part of the Erzgebirge's centuries-old mining district. The mine exploited bismuth-cobalt-nickel-silver-uranium veins from medieval times through 1990, producing 1,240 tonnes of uranium for Soviet nuclear programs during 1947-1990. Baryte forms as amber-golden to butterscotch-colored chisel-shaped or spear-like prismatic crystals reaching 3-5 cm, typically on crystalline quartz matrix with occasional purple fluorite associations. The crystals display exceptional gemmy translucence and glassy luster, occasionally forming doubly-terminated floaters. What makes Pöhla baryte historically significant is its status as Germany's premier golden baryte locality and the European standard against which other occurrences are compared. Most specimens were mined and secretly stashed during Soviet/East German operations, flooding Western markets briefly after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Material is predominantly older production from early-to-mid 1900s rather than contemporary finds. With mining ceased in 1990 and the deposit now a tourist mine, authentic Pöhla baryte has become increasingly difficult to obtain at the quality level that established the locality's reputation.