Galena w/ Quartz (rare old combo) Robertson Coll.

Item Description

A rich and showy old-time galena and quartz crystal plate from the the ancient mines in this area. Mining started in the 1100's and continued until the 1930s, when the last mine closed (MINDAT). Lustrous, metallic-gray cubes and cuboctahedrons, to 2.0 cm, are aesthetically sprinkled with clusters of glassy quartz crystals. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 4525 and acquired from Al McGuinness in the mid-1960s. Comes with an older German label. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record). Old-time galena and quartz specimens of this quality are very uncommon from here.