Copper (rare New Jersey locality)

Item Description

This piece is labeled as coming from "Somerville", which was the term used by the locals for the American Mine in Bridgewater Township, which is actually about 3 miles north of Somerville. While Chimney Rock is the most famous locality for Native Copper specimens in New Jersey, the Somerville pieces are highly sought after and rarely seen for sale. The entry on mindat.org states that the American Mine is quite similar to Chimney Rock in terms of its geology / mineralogy, but there is virtually nothing available from this locality on the market, so these pieces are certainly desirable for locality collectors or native element enthusiasts. Keep in mind that the American Mine was in production prior to the Revolutionary War, and closed in 1910, so this piece is WELL over 100 years old, and could date back a couple hundred years. The piece features a solid mass of Native Copper with a beautiful patina, and a bit of attached matrix. No real crystallization can be seen, but it's still a showy and attractive specimen for what it is. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #0040CL. Chet's collection catalogue states that he acquired this piece in May of 1986 from a "hippy dealer" at the Hackensack Show. 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.