Anglesite (rare classic locality specimen)

Item Description

Here we have an excellent old-time Anglesite from the famed Wheatley Mines in Pennsylvania. The old Wheatley Mine (Wheatley Lode) was one of the great secondary ore deposits in the world, and people have referred to it as "Tsumeb, before Tsumeb", as many of them same kinds of minerals were found (though Tsumeb proved to be much more prolific and diverse), but mining began in the 1850s at Wheatley, which predated any kind of mining at Tsumeb. With that said, these superb antiques are beloved by East Coast collectors for their significance to not only early mineralogy, but the prominence of mining on the East Coast of the United States in the 19th & 20th centuries. The most famous specimens from this locality are the excellent green Pyromorphites, but this piece is a much rarer and superb small cabinet display specimen featuring well-formed, sharp, lustrous, colorless, gemmy crystals of Anglesite measuring up to 1.4 cm sitting in an open vug atop the specimen. Additional crystals of bladed white Cerussite measuring up to 2.2 cm long can be seen on the piece for a great touch. The matrix contains dark grey-black Galena (possibly silver-bearing Galena), and some dark brownish colored Sphalerite (I found one crystal that actually passes light when backlit with a rich golden hue internally). The Anglesites are in fairly good condition, but you can see a few tiny nicks when the piece is viewed under magnification. Overall it's a remarkably showy and impressive example of these wonderful and INCREDIBLY hard to find classics from this prestigious locality. The piece comes with an old Metropolis label that valued it at $3750, but I could honestly seeing it going for more in today's market for the quality, size, scarcity and desirability on the market.
From the collection of George Elling, a prominent East Coast collector, and accompanied by a fantastic antique hand-written label that only refers to the piece as "sulphate of lead".