Cerussite (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

While Leadville was well-known for its gold and silver production, there were a few localities that produced excellent (for Colorado) secondary ore minerals, including some distinctive Cerussites. These pieces are similar in style/appearance to the classic Cerussites from the Flux Mine in Arizona, though the Leadville speicmens are much rarer on the market. Few were found of any great quality, and this piece is one of the showiest examples from this mine that we've ever had to offer. This miniature specimen features beautiful, lustrous, stark white, opaque, thin prismatic crystals of Cerussite on a small amount of matrix, creating a showy and aesthetic display piece. The largest Cerussite group measures 3.2 cm long. No major damage that I can find, and it's about as good as I've seen in this size range in terms of quality and aesthetics.
From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired from mining, but was formerly the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s, and the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".​