Calcite with Aragonite (?) coating (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

Here we have an interesting and impressive large cabinet display specimen from the little known Dandy Mine in Montana featuring dozens of sharp, well-formed, scalenohedral crystals of Calcite measuring up to 1.0 cm long on matrix. If you look around the periphery of the piece, along with the back of the specimen, you'll see that that the Calcite crystals are actually a soft translucent golden hue internally, but the front / display side of the piece has a coating of a stark white mineral (Chet's collection catalogue speculated this was Aragonite, but it has more of a pearly luster reminiscent of another carbonate like Dolomite). The piece is in superb condition with virtually no damage to the display side. I have never seen a piece like this from this locality, and if you collect Calcites, large cabinet display specimens, or unique pieces from US localities, do not let this one get away, as we may never have another like it to offer. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #19413CL. 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.