Carnegie Museum of Natural History
One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Collection managers Marc and Deb Wilson from the Section of Minerals recently attended the Geofair
Show in Cincinnati, where they displayed an exhibit on the quirks of quartz.
They also acquired new mineral specimens for the collection, two of which are planned for future
exhibit—wulfenite from China and pargasite on marble from Vietnam.
Curator of Collections Marc Wilson and Collections Assistant Deb Wilson were at the Tuscon Gem and Mineral Show this month on their hunt for more beautiful specimens for Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Minerals.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History received an award for best museum exhibit at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Congratulations to Curator of Collections Marc Wilson (right) and Collection Assistant Deb Wilson (left).
Last month, we asked the public for help identifying a piece of our collection.
The identity of a plaster cast of a gold nugget in the Section of Minerals had been lost to time. It was believed to be one of six casts of famous gold nuggets acquired by the museum from Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in 1897.
Collections managers Marc and Deb Wilson were digging through some more old records recently and discovered that our unknown gold nugget is a replica of a nugget found at Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska in September, 1899.
Mystery solved!
by Debra Wilson
The identity of this gold nugget has been lost to time. This is a plaster cast of a gold nugget which is housed in the Mineral Section of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It is believed to be one of six casts of famous gold nuggets acquired by the museum from Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in 1897. This specimen (CM33100) measures 12.8 x 3.9 x 2.9 cm (Photos by Deb Wilson).
The only identification for this nugget is the number “1328” affixed to the back of the specimen. Ward’s was known for producing and selling plaster casts of famous gold nuggets; they even exhibited a number of them at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.
The original documentation from the acquisition of the six gold nugget models cannot be found in the museum’s archives, except for a reference on page 56 of the Annual Report of the Carnegie Museum for the Year Ending March 31, 1899, which states “Casts of six gold nuggets and of 12 meteorites purchased October 20, 1897, from Wards Natural Science Establishment. Accession 419, 1-18.”
What is known about the other five gilded plaster casts is:
· “Ural” or “Great Triangle” nugget. Found at Taschku-Targunk, Ural Mountains, Russia, in 1842. Weight of original 100 lbs. Wards #1214, CM16711.
· “Welcome” nugget. Found at Bakery Hill, Victoria, Australia on June 11, 1858. Weight of original 2,166 ounces. Wards #1471, CM16710.
·“Oregon Canyon” nugget, Found near El Dorado City, California, USA, prior to 1866, Weight of original unknown. Wards #1473, CM33103.
·“Spondulix” nugget. Found at Eureka Gulch, Victoria, Australia in November, 1872; Weight of original 155 oz. Wards #1458, CM33101.
·“Homebush” nugget. Found at Homebush, Victoria Australia on March 24, 1880. Weight of original 80 oz., Wards #1467, CM33102.
If you have any information that may help identify which “famous” gold nugget this is a replica of, contact Debra Wilson, Section of Minerals, wilsond@carnegiemnh.org .
(Initial research done by museum volunteer David R. Alison)
Debra Wilson is collections assistant in the Section of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.
by Hayley Pontia
If you were born in August and not in love with the stark yellow green birthstone Peridot, you’re in luck!
The American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America announced that spinel, which comes in a variety of colors, is now the second birthstone for August.
It is popular belief that birthstones have special properties relating directly to a person’s birth month. August, along with the months of March, June, October, November, and December, all are represented by multiple birthstones.
Spinel is more than just colorful. It also comes with an interesting history.
According to Doug Hucker, the CEO or the American Gem Trade Association, ancient gemstone merchants revered spinel, and it was widely sought after by royalty. It was known as ‘balas ruby,’ and it wasn’t until the late 18th century that we had the technology to distinguish spinel as a separate mineral from ruby according to Hucker.
Above is a spinel specimen from Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection in Pittsburgh.
Hayley Pontia is the marketing assistant at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Photo by Deb Wilson.
