Sphalerite (excellent rare locality specimen)

Item Description

A splendid and notably eye-catching full cabinet-sized display piece of Sphalerite from the lesser-seen Blue Moon Mine in the Pitcher Field of Oklahoma. Certainly one of, if not the best example we've had to offer from this locality featuring many heavily striated, jet-black, sharp, well-formed, tetrahedral crystals measuring up to 2.5 cm on edge, with minor associated Dolomite. The piece is crystallized on both sides, with no real damage I can find. Sure, you might dismiss this as a "black rock", but it's excellent for the material, and the video might not do it justice in terms of its superior form and crystallization. Don't miss out on this one, especially because it's from a fairly obscure locality.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 2967. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information