Pyromorphite (classic material)

Item Description

The old Wheatley Mine (Wheatley Lode) in Pennsylvania is one of the great East Coast localities in the United States. Here we have an excellent old-time Pyromorphite from this famed locale, which for a long time had produced arguably the best examples of the species in the US, until discoveries were made at mines like Bunker Hill in Idaho. Wheatley was one of the great secondary ore deposits in the world in its day, and I've heard people have referred to it as "Tsumeb, before Tsumeb", as many of the same kinds of minerals were found (though Tsumeb proved to be much more prolific and diverse). It should be noted that mining began in the 1850s at Wheatley, which predated any kind of mining at Tsumeb. With that said, these superb antiques are beloved by East Coast collectors for their significance to not only early mineralogy, but the prominence of mining on the East Coast of the United States in the 19th & 20th centuries. As mentioned, most famous specimens from this locality are the excellent green Pyromorphites, and this piece is a great example featuring rich olive-green colored, translucent, vitreous hexagonal crystals sitting on matrix. The crystals are small (about 1 mm give or take), but they look beautiful under magnification. Overall it's a good example of these wonderful old classics from this prestigious locality.