Smithsonite with Barite (ex Willard Wulff Collection)

Item Description

When somebody mentions blue Smithsonite, most collectors immediately think of the famous Kelly mine in New Mexico which has produced some of the most oustanding specimens of the species extant. This piece features lustrous/vitreous, beautiful blue color radiating aggregates and classic "rice grain"-shaped groups of Smithsonite with bladed golden Barite plus small radial groups of greenish-blue Aurichalcite on matrix. The largest Barite crystal measures 1.2 cm on edge. The piece isn't 100% damage free, but it's still a nice cabinet sized reference piece of this classic material from New Mexico. This specimen comes from the collection of Willard W. Wulff (1904-1998) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a prominent figure and collector of Colorado minerals. Wulff was one of the founding members of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society in 1936. You can read Willard's bio on the Mineralogical Record website here ( http://www.minrec.org/labels.asp?colid=1528 ).