Ferberite (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

Panasqueira is well-known for its fantastic Apatite crystals, along with various sulfides, plus Cassiterite, but it doesn't get enough credit for its fine quality Ferberite crystals. This piece is a wonderful and aesthetic display specimen featuring a pair of layered, highly lustrous, jet-black, well-formed, tabular crystals of Ferberite (formerly Wolframite) perched atop a layer of golden Muscovite associated with minor pale green crystals of Fluorapatite and colorless Quartz. The larger Ferberite has a contact on the top portion of the crystal, but the piece is so showy and eye-catching, that the damage is almost forgivable. A wonderful example of this classic material. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.