Fluorite (uncommon locality) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

This is an uncommon Fluorite specimen from the Vignola Mine, in the mountains of northeastern, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. This piece is not from recent specimen recovery efforts, as it was acquired by Chet in 1995. This attractive small cabinet is loaded with sharp, lustrous, gemmy, silvery-green colored cubes measuring up to 1.5 cm on edge, with no matrix. If you look closely on the edges of the crystals you can see thin "phantom" zoning lines, and there are small inclusions of what appears to be some kind of iron oxide (Hematite?) on some of the crystals. Overall the piece is in good shape, but no damage free, as there are few contacted areas. With that said, you'd be hard-pressed to find these on the market these days outside of Europe, and it would make a great addition to any worldwide Fluorite suite. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #4903CL. 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.