Fluorite (rich color) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

The Fluorites from the Erongo Mountains in Namibia are some of the most well-known and desirable examples of the species in the modern age of mineral collecting. This piece is not from a contemporary find, as it was acquired by Chet from the Rocksmiths in 2002, and is a great example of what the specimens looked like when they were coming out during this time. This large miniature / small cabinet sized piece hosts a few rich green colored cubic Fluorites measuring 1.2 cm on edge associated with little "rosettes" of Muscovite on beige colored Microcline matrix. If you look closely, you'll see the color is concentrated in the centers of the gemmy Fluorite cubes, but the exterior edges are essentially colorless. The Fluorites are all in good shape on the front/display side, but the piece is contacted around the periphery where it was removed from the pocket wall. If you collect Fluorites or minerals from Erongo / Namibia, don't miss out on this one, the color is quite saturated for the size of the crystals. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #19622CL. A former Donald Ferguson collection specimen also. 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.