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This museum-grade, 3-pound matching two-piece mineral set represents one of the most visually spectacular and scientifically complex occurrences of rare element mineralization ever recovered from the historic Apex Shaft in Madison County, Missouri. Carrying the elite pedigree of the historic Cox Family Collection, this set is an absolute showpiece for advanced collectors of premier American mining history and exotic mineral fluorescence.
The two halves have been expertly processed to a flawless, scratch-free optical mirror polish across both primary faces, offering a perfect symmetrical window into the core of a high-temperature Precambrian greisen vein. Under normal daylight, the face is hammered with a high-density metallic matrix, featuring razor-sharp, blocky fields of platinum-white arsenopyrite and thick, gunmetal-black bladed sheets of heavy wolframite (tungsten ore), framed by sweeping, glassy channels of deep amber-orange siderite.
The Fluorescent Anomaly: Under ultraviolet light, the bottom edge of the vein erupts into an incredibly rare, continuous 0.5\" to 0.75\" neon rainbow band of orange, yellow, red/orange, cream-white, blue, and deep purple. This stunning multi-colored spectrum is driven by multiple concurrent geochemical activators—including Manganese, Europium, and trace Uranyl ion phosphate micas—all concentrated along a primary fluid bottleneck. Strikingly, a series of ancient micro-cracks cut vertically through the hard quartz gangue, dotted with these exact same neon rainbow colors, recording the precise path of the final, high-pressure elemental vapors that surged through the vein before it sealed permanently 1.5 billion years ago.
Sales & Display Note: This set is being sold exclusively as an unbroken, book-matched pair to preserve the absolute 3D continuity of both the daylight metallic ore bands and the matching multi-mineral UV mapping. It stands as an investment-tier reference piece showcasing the absolute pinnacle of St. Francois Mountains hydrothermal complexity.
PROVENANCE AND LOCALITY
Mining District: Historic Silver Mines District
Specific Mine Workings: Apex Shaft / Apex Mine Complex
Geographic Location: Madison County, St. Francois Mountains, Missouri, USA
Geological Horizon: Precambrian Magmatic-Hydrothermal Greisen Injection
Estimated Structural Age: Approximate 1.5 Billion Years Old
Collection Pedigree: The Historic Cox Family Collection
PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND LAPIDARY DATA
Total Set Weight: 1,367 Grams (3.01 Pounds Combined Weight)
Specimen Half 1 Weight: 645 Grams
Specimen Half 1 Dimensions: 6.0 Inches x 3.0 Inches x 1.5 Inches
Specimen Half 2 Weight: 722 Grams
Specimen Half 2 Dimensions: 5.5 Inches x 3.0 Inches x 2.0 Inches
Lapidary Treatment: Precision flat-lap face cut with a full progressive optical mirror polish
Presentation Format: Complete, unbroken book-matched pair showing absolute 3D continuity
DAYLIGHT MINERALOGICAL FRAMEWORK
Primary Metallic Phase: High-luster, steel-white fields of rhombohedral Arsenopyrite
Heavy Tungsten Oxide: Sub-metallic black sheets and radiating blades of Wolframite (Ferberite)
Hydrothermal Carbonate: Deep, glassy amber-brown to fiery orange structural channels of Siderite
Main Gangue Matrix: Hydrothermal milky-to-translucent Crystalline Quartz core
Silicate Groundmass: Groundmass of altered Amphibole Silicates, quartz, and dense green chlorite
ULTRAVIOLET GEOPHYSICAL FLUORESCENCE ANOMALY
Bottom Boundary Activation Zone: Continuous 0.5-inch to 0.75-inch neon rainbow band
Secondary Structural Lines: Interconnected micro-crack networks displaying matching color dots
Neon Yellow / Orange-Yellow Response: Uranyl ion activation within microcrystalline Autunite/Uranocircite hydrous phosphates
Brilliant Orange / Red-Orange Response: Manganese-activated structural defects inside altered Potassium Feldspar wall rock
Deep Blue / Intense Purple Response: Rare-earth Europium activation within localized Hydrothermal Fluorite stringers
Cream White Response: Dull, solid ivory-white fluorescence tracing advanced argillic clay alteration pathways (Kaolinite/Sericite dir=\"ltr\" style=\"margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;\">Primary UV Anomaly & Mineral Chemistry
Multi Color Fluorescence
Neon Rainbow Mineral
Autunite Yellow
Uranocircite Spots
Europium Blue Fluorite
Manganese Orange Feldspar
Cream White Sericite
Multi Activator UV
Shortwave UV Longwave
Fluorescent Rare Minerals
Micro Crack Injection Luminescence
Locality, Pedigree, & History
