Berthierite (superb RARE locality specimen) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

Specimens from the old Nakaze Mine in Japan are virtually unseen in today's market. I've only seen a select few pieces from this gold and antimony producing locale, and this piece is without question the finest specimen of Berthierite that we've ever had to offer. This piece is loaded with dozens if not hundreds of fine acicular, silvery-grey colored crystals of Berthierite measuring up to 1.1 cm growing in radial "sprays" associated with minor Quartz on matrix. I looked closely for any signs of gold on the specimen, but I couldn't see anything with a loupe. If you flip the piece over, you'll see spots of iridescent blue/purple Stibnite which almost perfectly match the crystals in the photo on mindat.org (https://www.mindat.org/photo-1012272.html), which certainly confirms the locality. A really special and important specimen from this fairly obscure Japanese mine. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #16512CL. Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.