Fluorite with Sphalerite

Item Description

A beautiful association specimen featuring a plate of strong yellow colored Fluorite crystals which play host to scattered dark brown-black Sphalerite crystals. The Fluorites are partially etched, and have transformed from their original cubic shape to pseudo-trigonal / scalenohedral crystals, which is not commonly seen from any locality in Southern Illinois. The largest Fluorite measures about 2.1 cm across, and the biggest Sphalerite measures 1.3 cm. The piece is in fine condition, as I can't really find much in the way of damage, and the balance between the Fluorites and Sphalerites makes for a very eye-catching big display piece. The piece was originally in the collection of Roy Smith, who assembled a great collection of Southern Illinois specimens. Valued $5,000
Ex George Loud Collection No. 9.2.1 IL.59; 9698 George (born August 16, 1942) is a well-known mineral collector from Washington, DC and South Carolina respectively, and was a patent lawyer by trade for over 50 years. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the U.S., comprising worldwide specimens, and in later years he sold the worldwide specimens to focus on minerals of the United States, specifically locality suites with an emphasis on amazing representation of species while still maintaining fine quality. The specimens remarkably range from micros to all the way up to large cabinets in size. We recently acquired most of his impressive 9000+ piece collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality specimens for their collections.
See: https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/george-loud for more information