Sphalerite (gemmy crystals)

Item Description

There are many well-known mines in Creede, Colorado, many of which were famous for their excellent silver production. Some mines in particular were arguably most well-known for fine quality sulfides, namely Sphalerite. This showy small cabinet sized specimen features several good sized Sphalerite crystals measuring up to 4.5 cm across, which might appear black in reflected light, but when they're backlit, they show excellent internal gemminess with a rich honey-gold color and small greenish-yellow flashes. A bit of accenting grey Quartz and minor Galena can be seen on the piece for a nice touch. No major damage that I can find on the specimen. An attractive and now hard to find display specimen of this classic material.
This piece comes from the personal collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman, the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. Dave is now retired from mining, but he worked for decades in various mines underground in Colorado, as a miner, mechanic, engineer, shift boss and foreman. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the foreman and the primary person in charge of mining and specimen recovery at the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado in the 1970s alongside his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar. This project what was the FIRST ever operation for specimen recovery at this historic locality. A full-page photograph of Dave can be seen mining underground at the Sweet Home in on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".