Fluorite with Quartz (large impressive specimen) (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

This piece is labeled as coming from Joplin, Missouri (specifically the Joplin Field in Jasper County), but I can't find a confirmed report of Fluorite from anywhere in this area. The specimen is possibly from the Pea Ridge Mine in Washington County, which isn't terribly close to Joplin, but I've seen a fair number of pieces labeled as coming from Joplin that were found in another locality. If anybody out there can help us confirm the locality for this piece, please feel free to reach out and let us know where it's from. With that said, this specimen is one of the most impressive Fluorites from Missouri that we've ever handled due to the fact that it's a hefty large cabinet display piece, and it's in excellent condition. The piece is covered with several dozen sharp, dark purple, cubic Fluorite crystals measuring up to 7 mm on edge which are partially coated by and sitting atop micro Quartz crystals, and associated with minor grey-black Sphalerite. When you flip the piece over, the Quartz crystals are much larger than the display side, while the Fluorites are a bit smaller, creating a nice contrast between the two sides. The vast majority of the Fluorite crystals are undamaged and show good internal gemminess when backlit. A truly impressive and desirable specimen from a state that is not terribly well-known for producing excellent large cabinet display specimens of Fluorite. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #0598CL. 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.