Pyrosmalite-(Mn) (rare) (ex Rich Kosnar and Pat Gross Collections)

Item Description

One of the very few specimens of Pyrosmalite-(Mn) (formerly Manganpyrosmalite) from Sterling Hill that I have seen. The piece features very small (less than 1 mm), sharp, gemmy, lustrous, doubly-terminated hexagonal prisms of very light sherry colored Pyrosmalite-(Mn). I have photographed the crystals under the micrscope to better illustrate their quality. I'm told that the best of these specimens were mined in 1980. The piece is from the collection of noted New Jersey collector Pat Gross, who obtained the piece on May 17th from well known Franklin mineral dealer, Ewald Gerstmann. The piece later came to the collection of Richard Kosnar in the early 1990s. A worthwhile and rarely seen specimen featuring an excellent quality example (albeit micro) of this sought after species from Sterling Hill.