Fluorite with Galena on Sphalerite (ex Ross Lillie)

Item Description

At first, this one almost fooled me because I thought it was from the Elmwood Mine in Tennessee. The combination of the rich purple Fluorites on the 'Ruby Jack' Sphalerite were nearly a dead ringer for an Elmwood piece. If you look closely though, you can see the differences. The Fluorites themselves are very similar, but the color actually shifts from a purple tone to more of a bluish hue in sunlight, which you really don't see in an Elmwood piece. The largest Fluorite measures up to 2.2 cm on edge, and the association of silvery-grey modified cuboctahedral Galena measuring up to 0.7 cm along with a bit of a yellow-golden tone in the Fluorites let you know that this is from southern Illinois. The beautifully crystallized 'Ruby Jack' Sphalerite matrix shows gorgeous flashes of reddish-brown to honey-brown to golden. You can see a bit of host rock pedestals on the back of the piece, which allows it to display more easily. There is a little bit of damage, but the piece is still in good shape overall and it's very three-dimensional and eye-catching. From the collection of Ross Lillie (# RCL2161) and his label states that it was mined by Lillie himself in July of 1984 in the 'Lillie Pod', which was found in advance mining early in the development of the orebody. Additionally Lillie's label states that there are slight modifications to the Fluorite crystals, which also gives them a characteristic appearance that distinguishes them from Elmwood. A great add for your collection, especially if you collect Fluorites, Hardin County specimens or just nice display piece. Valued in the inventory at $950.