Galena (rare octahedral habit) (ex Al Kidwell Collection)

Item Description

Please note: This specimen is labeled as coming from the Eagle Picher Mine in Kansas, and while this locality is not listed on the database on mindat.org, it is a real locality, and should not be confused with the Eagle Picher Mine in Oklahoma. For reference here is a historic website with info about the Kansas locality ( https://www.kshs.org/index.php?url=km/items/view/211962 ). This specimen is an attractive old-time Galena featuring fairly well-formed, semi-lustrous, metallic silvery-grey colored octahedral crystals of Galena measuring up to 1.6 cm sitting on Chert matrix. The octahedral habit is significant, as most Galena crystals you'll see from the Tri-State are cubic in habit, and the octahedral crystals can only form at a higher temperature and pressure underground, so you rarely see them in these kind of deposits. You might often see cubic Galena crystals with small octahedral modifications on the corners, but complete octahedral crystals like this are certainly rare. The piece is in very good condition with no major damage that I can see with the naked eye. If you collect sulfides, Galena specimens or minerals from the Tri-State area of the US, don't miss out on this one, as we don't have another like it to offer. From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974.