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Mineral Specimens with Galena
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A remarkable Russian galena distinguished by very complex and beautiful faces, with intricate growth patterns and hoppering. The crystal is complete all around and beautiful from every angle! 8.5 x 5.5 x 3.8 cm
The mirror-metallic luster of these superb galena crystals just does not come through in the photos. They are gracefully around a bit of contrasting matrix. At the top of the specimen is a huge, fabulous sphalerite crystal almost 4 cm across, with chevron striations. A couple of smaller ones (though still large by normal standards) have grown elsewhere amongst the galena crystals. Dazzling in person! 14 x 10.5 x 5.8 cm
Incredibly gemmy, lustrous and striated golden-amber sphalerite crystals to 1.3 cm along with metallic-yellow chalcopyrite crystals and one nicely hoppered galena crystal make for an excellent combination piece from the famous Commodore Mine in Creede, Colorado. The golden flashes from the gemmy sphalerite crystals are really striking. This is about the gemmiest Commodore Mine sphalerite that I have seen and the combo with the oither sulfides adds to the beauty. 4.2 x 4.2 x 1.8 cm
3.5 x 2.5 x 2.2 cm. Splendent, sharp, cuboctahedral galena crystals on contrasting pyrite matrix forms a fine, complete-all-around miniature from this venerable locale. The large galena, with the flat top, reminds me of a Mayan or Aztec pyramid. Essentially pristine. Ex. Tarnowski Collection.
4.8 x 3.8 x 3.6 cm. A wonderful, 2.1 cm, lustrous, cuboctahedral galena crystal beautifully perched on massive pyrite matrix covered with sparkly, iridescent marcasite, gemmy, brown sphalerite crystals, dolomite rhombs and smaller galena crystals. This is classic combination material from this venerable locale, highlighted by the sharp, complete-all-around galena crystal. Ex. Gene Meieran Collection. All of these are old and came mostly from one lucky find by Dick Barstow when he saved them from the smelter there (I think in the late-1970s or early-1980s?).
3.9 x 3.3 x 1.8 cm. Three, lustrous galena cubes are perched on a sliver of brecciated limestone matrix covered with scintillating calcite microcrystals and beautifully accented with a rich sprinkling of gemmy, ruby-jack sphalerite crystals. The crowning galena cube is 1.3 x 1.1 cm and has interesting, modified corners. The galena crystals are pristine. This is classic and excellent combination material from the Walsh Ore Body of the Camp Bird Mine at Ouray, Colorado. Ex. Jaime Bird Collection.
8.2 x 7.5 x 6.6 cm. A superb, textbook, 360-degree galena cube from the Sweetwater Mine and the George Feist Collection. This pristine, splendent crystal is attractively set on smaller galena cubes and matrix. The slightly modified corners on all of the cubes are a very nice touch to this very aesthetic specimen.
4.5 x 4 x 3.5 cm. An outstanding combination piece of Magnetite, Chalcopyrite, and Galena, all with superb metallic luster from this little known locality. While the Chalcopyrite is crudely crystallized and the sharp cubic Galena was probably cleaved during mining, the Magnetites, particularly the main crystal on top, are superb. This .7 cm on edge Magnetite is a classic octahedron with the edges strongly modified by the dodecahedron, creating beautiful beveled edges and perfect triangular faces. Ex. Charlie Key.
A dramatic and showy CABINET specimen covered with brightly metallic, skeletal cube-octohedral galena crystals to 1.5 cm on a quartz-pyrite matrix from the famous Huanzala Mine of Peru. 13.8 x 6.4 x 5.1 cm
6.5 x 5.0 x 4.0 cm. Cuboctahedral galena and euhedral sphalerite, both showing nice striations. The striations on the galenas look like etch features. Classic material from this locality. I am told that these locales are now winding down as economic ore mining has ceased.
Galena is a common mineral, but this specimen is just extraordinary and deserving of a place in a fine collection. It is a STUNNING floater crystal, a flattened spinel twin, which looks almost like smooth, metallic interlocking machine parts. I really hope this will be appreciated for how fine it is. 5.0 x 3.8 x 0.8 cm
8.5 x 6.4 x 6.0 cm. A fine mounded specimen covered with lustrous, sharp, metallic-gray galena cuboctahedrons from the Buick Mine of Missouri’s Viburnum Trend. The crystals reach 1.5 cm on this fine piece. Ex. George Feist Collection.
11.4 x 8.8 x 6.8 cm. Lustrous, metallic-gray galena octahedrons to 4.0 cm comprise this fine cabinet piece from the Blackdene Mine of England. This fine specimen is complete-all-around and is undamaged. Classic material from a classic locale in Weardale. Ex. David Hacker and Tarnowski Collections. Weighs 4.9 pounds or 2.2 kilograms.
5.1 x 3.9 x 3.8 cm. A sharp, splendent, chrome steel-gray galena cube from the Sweetwater Mine of Missouri’s Viburnum Trend. This is a textbook, super lustrous galena cube with no damage to the presentation faces. Ex. Tarnowski Collection.
9.5 x 7.2 x 6.2 cm. A classic, old-time galena specimen from the famed Joplin Field of Missouri and the George Feist Collection, # 2770. Two splendent galena cubes to 3.6 cm, with very pronounced corner growths are very aesthetically stacked atop each other on a matrix of ruby-jack sphalerite and brecciated chert and silicified limestone.
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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