Galena

Item Description

Some of the finest Galena specimens from any Colorado mine are those from various localities in Creede. This piece is one of the showier examples we've ever had to offer as it features a beautiful sculptural group of sharp, well-formed, dark metallic grey cubes measuring 1.4 cm on edge, with a very light dusty off-white coating (presumably some kind of clay in the pocket) on select faces, creating a nice contrast. There is no matrix, the piece is solid Galena front and back. Nearly every crystal is undamaged, and they're so beautifully offset, that they create what almost reminds me of an M. C. Escher image. The crystals are also notably smooth, well-formed and euhedral, which is not always the case with Creede Galena specimens, as the crystals can sometimes be somewhat crude and / or skeletal. A really choice specimen from this well-known mining district in southwestern Colorado.
From the collection of Gary and Terry Butts of Livermore, Colorado. This husband and wife collecting duo were childhood sweethearts, and have been together since they began dating as teenagers growing up in East Des Moines, Iowa in the 1950s. Both of them had an early interest in the hobby thanks to the fact that Terry's parents had a keen interest in lapidary, which sparked an interest in rocks for both of them. Gary and Terry were featured in an article in the Des Moines Register on Feb 4, 1962 (see photo in this listing) highlighting their interest and prowess in the hobby as youngsters. Gary traveled to various localities around the US as a teenager with his father (who worked in the tin industry), to personally collect specimens. He then attended the School of Mines in Golden, Colorado and graduated in 1967 with a degree in extractive metallurgical engineering. We went to work for Duval Corp at the Esperanza Mine south of Tucson, Arizona and then work for Cyprus Mines, Hazen Research, Pincock, Allen & Holt and the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute. His final job was in the mineral and environmental division of Intertek Testing Services of London, which owned the Canadian mineral testing company, Bonder Clegg. Gary's various jobs allowed him to travel the world and build his collection by buying a lot of specimens in person when they were coming out of the ground. Additionally, Terry's uncle was a miner in Creede, Colorado and later owned a rock shop which supplied Gary with specimens from the area. The specimens in this auction represent what Gary and Terry considered the "cream of the crop" of their collection.