Fluorite with Siderite

specimen number:
1052356

location:
Freiberg, Saxony, Germany

description:
Golden yellow glassy gemmy cubic crystals of fluorite to 2.0 cm on edge across the top of matrix with crystallized siderite. Slight damage present, I think this can be excused when considering the piece was collected in the 19th century. At one time part of the collection of Wilhelm Hoyer. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video.

Mining at Freiberg in Saxony, Germany began in the late 12th century after the discovery of rich silver deposits in hydrothermal veins cutting metamorphic rocks of the Erzgebirge. The district became one of the most important silver mining centers in Europe and supported the growth of the town of Freiberg as a major economic and cultural center. Numerous underground mines worked ores containing silver, lead, and other metals for many centuries. Freiberg also became a center of mining science with the founding of the Mining Academy in 1765, which played an important role in the development of modern geology and mining engineering.

Wilhelm Hoyer was a 19th century German mineral collector and dealer who was active during a period when systematic mineral collecting and scientific study were expanding across Europe. He handled and distributed mineral specimens from important mining regions such as the Harz Mountains and the Erzgebirge of Saxony. Hoyer supplied specimens to collectors, universities, and museums, and many minerals he sold were accompanied by printed or handwritten labels that are still recognized today. Original Hoyer labels are valued by collectors because they provide historical provenance for specimens from classic European mining districts.

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