Cassiterite var: Wood Tin (RARE locality specimen)

Item Description

This is the first specimen of this material that we've had to offer, and based upon the few others we've seen for comparison, I'm going to say that this piece is better, both in terms of size and quality. This near full-sized cabinet specimen is loaded with dozens of mammillary / botryoidal groups of rich reddish-brown Cassiterite, on minor oxidized matrix. This specific style is referred to as "Wood Tin", where the Cassiterite doesn't form crystals, but rather spheres. Typically we see these specimens as rounded nuggets, pulled from streams and rivers, but this piece and others from the América-Sapioris District are actually dug out of the ground. At first glance, I was certain this had to be an old English "Kidney Ore" Hematite, but the fact that it's a showy and frankly fine quality "Wood Tin" from Mexico makes it all the more enticing and valuable in my mind. If you collect minerals of Mexico, or if you're a fan of tin minerals, do not miss out on this wonderful and eye-catching specimen from this lesser-known locale. I value this one highly for the rare locality, but it's also a top-notch example of the material, regardless of where it's from. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #16646CL. Chet's collection catalogue states that this piece is from the collection of Dr. Miguel Romero, the preeminent Mexican mineral collector of his day. The piece was purchased from Peter Megaw at the Executive Inn Show in Tucson in 2001. 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.