Rutile (twin) (rare locality specimen)

Item Description

This piece was simply labeled as coming from Nelson County, Virginia, but it's almost certainly from the Piney River. We had a similar specimen nearly a decade ago, which was from a locality called the Massie Prospect, but we couldn't find a listing for that locality anywhere. With that said, this piece is quite similar in style/habit. This miniature sized specimen features a notably thick and robust example with matte black faces and attractive cyclic twinning, creating a nearly complete "floater" specimen. The exterior is slightly water-worn, but the overall shape and condition of the piece are still very good. If you collect Rutile specimens, or minerals from the Southern United States, don't miss out on this one, they are rarely seen for sale in today's market. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #20449CL. The piece was originally from the collection of Dan Serebrakian. Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.