Fluorapatite (good sized crystal - classic locale)

Item Description

A classic and good sized compound Fluorapatite crystal from the famous Mexican locality at Cerro de Mercado. Most of the crystals you'll see from this locality are only a few cm, and this one is over 5 cm in length, an impressive size for the material. The piece a wonderful sharp, lustrous, translucent euhedral, hexagonal prismatic crystal with the well-known slightly greenish yellow color and classic pyramidal termination. These specimens are not nearly as common on the market as they were about 20 years ago, and are certainly some of the most distinctive crystals of Apatite from any locality in the world. There are a few rough spots, so it's not completely pristine, but it is fully crystallized all around and is one of the biggest crystals we've had from this classic locale to offer in the auctions.
From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #1198CL. 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.