Crystals of sharp, lustrous, complex galena cover a matrix of quartz and are associated here with the desirable brown, tranclucent siderite that is classic for this old historic locality. The galenas are typical Neudorf style, extremely lustrous with sharp terminal faces and complex sides, sometimes in elongated crystals, here to 4 cm. This MAJOR German galena specimen was purchased by a prominent German collector from American dealer Rick Smith in 1970. This was the same era in which he was trading many old specimens out of the American Museum collections, and in any case it is certainly from an old source as this habit and style is characteristic of the most sought-after Neudorf specimens, from the mid to late 1800s. Such large, robust specimens are very hard to find today on the market. They ONLY come from major old collections, and the occasional museum deaccession. The piece is in remarkable condition with only trivial and peripheral edge wear, and one area near the bottom of broken galena (although it may simply be contacting and not true damage there as parts of that irregular area look crystallized on a micro scale). Even so, I have seen few CABINET sized examples of any quality; and we regard this as a major specimen.

This hefty galena specimen is really impressive in person. It is just a little bit more metallic, lustrous, sharp, and symmetric than most in this size class. It is nearly undamaged, and complete all around, except for a few minor contacts. Together, those qualities really make it stand out from the crowd - and yes, tonnage quite literally was mined here. Nevertheless, out of all the thousands of specimens that came out in the heyday here, this is definitely in the top percentile as far as the subtle qualities that make it appealing to a collector can be judged. It was long in the Steve Neely collection, and then sold in 1997 with that collection. It was purchased then by French collector Eric Asselborn for his own collection. So, it has graced the shelves of two notoriously picky (and knowledgeable) collectors who were looking for the very BEST of a find. Yes, it looks expensive in flat photos. No question, it IS expensive and I am sure each of them felt the same way. However, this combination specimen, with its minor attached matrix, really looks stunning in person and is worth the premium if you have seen the tables of slightly less perfect material and always wanted one that is "a little better." It is so sharp, and so symmetric, that this looks more like a Spanish pyrite in its simple geometry, than anything. 9.5 pounds weight! One of the few of these relatively common specimens in collections that has ever floored me, visually.

This specimen features a robust cluster of unusually fat and well developed hedenbergite crystals, attached to a crystallized mass of galena. I am told this dates to the 1940s or prior, from these classic mines. I have seen many small hedenbergites from here, remarkable for their sharpness. But this one is very impressive as a specimen overall, and is nice from any angle. ex Al Ordway collection. Joe Budd Photos