Anglesite with Cerussite on Galena (ex. Fioravanti)

Item Description

A most impressive, old-time specimen from this classic locale. We are told these generally date to the late 1800s mining era here. From the Giancarlo Fioravanti collection, and he obtained it in 1972 from the Muzzoni collection, per his label. A rare oldtimer, although how old we can no longer say, it is in unusually good condition and actually has aesthetics - rare for this material. A series of sharp, well-formed Anglesite crystals populate a matrix composed of partially weathered Galena. The Anglesites are coated tan, possibly by microcrystalline Cerussite alteration. The source of the lead for both the Anglesite and the Cerussite was the Galena ore underneath, of which some fragment remains on the bottom. The large crystal is 3.7 cm, and doubly-terminated, complemented nicely by almost a dozen smaller crystals. The bit of (minor) chipping on one corner of the larger crystal reveals that the Anglesites have a very glassy, colorless interior beneath the coating. This is a very large crystal for the locale and is seldom available. Valued $800-1200