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Identity HelpRussian locality

2nd May 2010 12:28 UTCRoger Lang Manager

Hi all,

wanted to post this in the talk pages/localities section but the system did not let me create a new topic.

While researching some localities from old labels i came across an old specimen of chrysocolla covered by tiny quartz crystals on matrix. The accompanying label is an Isaac Walker label, dated 1832. The Minrec database doesn´t list but i know from fellow collector Bernhard Sick and from the documentation of K.H. Gerl (see here: http://www.gerl-mineralien.de/heuland1.html). Walker had specimens from Henry Heuland (they are marked with an H) and other origins - this one has an R which i do not know for whom it stands. At quick first sight i only read Siberia, looked at the specimen and thought it was a Ekaterinburg/Niznii Tagil area sample as i had some Walker specimens from there in the past.

Re-reading the label i noticed that there was the name "Colivan" written before the "Siberia". Now, there is no entry of Colivan in mindat, and checking google finally led me to an old article where "the mines of Colivan" were mentioned in one sentence. Going deeper into the subject, i finally found a short reference in context with the Schlangenberg (Zmeinogorsk) mine. Google maps led me to a small place called Kolyvan near Zmeinogorsk. Searching for Kolyvan and copper gave a reference about a copper smelter in the Altai. On a webpage of the Göttingen university ( http://www.geobiologie.uni-goettingen.de/museum/exhibitions/special_exhibitions/edles_aus_sibirien/gueldene_schaetze_des_altai/index.shtml ) about an Altai exhibition there is a production list of the Kolyvan mines mentioned, associated with Zmeinogorsk specimens. On another page about the exhibition a copper sample from Kolyvan is shown.

Does anyone know more about this locality (and may add it to the mindat db?). It seems to have been a very prolific copper deposit in the 18th century.

Here the specimen with label:

Any comments appreciated (and someone of the mods may move the topic to the locality talk page if appropriate)

(EDIT: searching for Kolywan yields a detailed wikipedia article (german, the english about Kolyvan is a short stub) about the lapidary manufacture of Kolywan, which has been installed at the former copper smelter, closed in 1799) )

cheers

Roger

4th May 2010 00:23 UTCPavel Kartashov Manager

There was famous mint yard in Kolyvan' (Колывань) in the end of XVIII century. It had produced copper coin from Zmeinogorsk copper. This copper had contained elevated amounts of Au and Ag. So this special coinage was differ from another coins of Empire. They were ~twice smaller of usual imperial coinage so 10 Siberian kopeek were only some larger of 5 usual kopeek.

K and M letters under EII means "Kolyvan' coin" - Колыванская Монета.

Design of the coin is quite different from usual Empire coin also: it has image of two sables - simbol of Siberia instead of Empire two-head eagle.

Unfortunately I don't have any information on mineralogy of Kolyvan' copper mines itself.

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