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LOT 4181A

Rare Natural Black Nevada Opal--"The Galaxy Teardrop of Virgin Valley"

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Rare Natural Black Nevada Opal--"The Galaxy Teardrop of Virgin Valley"
Royal Peacock Mine, Virgin Valley, Humboldt County, Nevada
Found in Nevada, Sept. 14 2002, this is a very large pear-shaped opal comprising brilliant red, green, blue and gold play-of-color throughout.

The rough opal was unearthed from the Royal Peacock Mine by Roger Loring Decker. He spent several days each year digging with picks, pry bars and screwdrivers at the Royal Peacock Mine. On that day he found a large, opalized, petrified wood limb with a beautiful spectrum of colors on both ends. His friend, Frederick Rasp, arrived at the Royal Peacock in the afternoon shortly after Roger found the opal branch.

Roger showed the owners of the Royal Peacock his amazing find. The next morning, he came back to the area he had flagged and was warned by the owners that he was not to dig under the overhang, due to safety concerns. Frederick and Roger dug in the nearby hard clay the next day without much luck. The following day they came back to continue their digging and found that the owners of the mine had back filled the bank where the opal limb had been found with several tons of material to keep anyone from digging near there. Weighing over 200 carats and measuring 73 x 35.8 x 16.75 mm (2.87 x 1.41 x .66 in)

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Time, Location
11 Dec 2019
USA, Los Angeles, CA
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[ translate ]

Rare Natural Black Nevada Opal--"The Galaxy Teardrop of Virgin Valley"
Royal Peacock Mine, Virgin Valley, Humboldt County, Nevada
Found in Nevada, Sept. 14 2002, this is a very large pear-shaped opal comprising brilliant red, green, blue and gold play-of-color throughout.

The rough opal was unearthed from the Royal Peacock Mine by Roger Loring Decker. He spent several days each year digging with picks, pry bars and screwdrivers at the Royal Peacock Mine. On that day he found a large, opalized, petrified wood limb with a beautiful spectrum of colors on both ends. His friend, Frederick Rasp, arrived at the Royal Peacock in the afternoon shortly after Roger found the opal branch.

Roger showed the owners of the Royal Peacock his amazing find. The next morning, he came back to the area he had flagged and was warned by the owners that he was not to dig under the overhang, due to safety concerns. Frederick and Roger dug in the nearby hard clay the next day without much luck. The following day they came back to continue their digging and found that the owners of the mine had back filled the bank where the opal limb had been found with several tons of material to keep anyone from digging near there. Weighing over 200 carats and measuring 73 x 35.8 x 16.75 mm (2.87 x 1.41 x .66 in)

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Estimate
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Time, Location
11 Dec 2019
USA, Los Angeles, CA
Auction House
Unlock