huge Fluorescent classic Willemite & Calcite ex. Lemanski

Item Description

Franklin and Sterling Hill in New Jersey are the world's most famous fluorescent collecting focus, and this historic large slab (at 8.2 pounds!) is a significant example of the classic fluorescent minerals that made the location so famous among the wider public as well as the collecting community. This polished slab has a beautiful surface luster and color to it, that comes from an expert polish (no easy task on this material!). Chet told me that he collected this himself. Excavated during the construction of the modern "Rainbow Room" tunnel as the mine was redeveloped under a foundation into a modern museum site, this souvenir of the old days has been in the collection of Chet Lemanski for decades. It displays beautifully as a specimen, and as a fluorescent, and as a polished slab has the impact and visual size without the weight of a massive heavy boulder! It is hard to value such a unique and historic piece of Franklin/Sterling material. As Chet relates his Franklin history: I became a member of the "Millsite Crew" at Franklin, NJ, excavating that old mine dump site. I spent weekends as a volunteer underground again over a 3 year period (1987-1990) during the conversion of the Sterling mine into a public access mining museum (equipment and artifact conservation and specimen retrieval). I started collecting minerals as a young teenager, circa 1957. After graduating college preparatory school, I became a part-time mineral dealer with a partner at Franklin, NJ. I also sought and achieved employment by the New Jersey Zinc Co. at their Sterling Mine, Ogdensburg, NJ, to experience the mining process and observe the Sterling ore body in person. I became a drill runner and worked underground for about 1 year. I also became a supporter of the Franklin Mineral Museum prior to its opening. My original collection is the foundation collection of the museum. (more on Chet and his notable contributions here on his MINDAT page: https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html)