Fluorite (rare locality)

Item Description

These Fluorites came out a few decades ago, they were limited back in the day, and are very hard to find on the market now. The mine closed in 2003, and nothing in way of good Fluorites was found after 1995. What really stands out to me is the fact that they have a very dark purple color (nearly black), but they are also octahedral, and most purple Fluorites are cubic, so this is a higher temperature crystallization in a rarely seen hue. The piece hosts a few well-formed octahedra measuring up to 3.3 cm across, with an almost "drusy" luster on the surface, sitting on a thin layer of matrix. I can see a few small nicks, but the piece is largely in good condition. A really cool miniature for any fan of worldwide Fluorites.
From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #6477CL. The piece is a former Czech Geological Survey collection specimen according to Chet's collection catalogue. 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.