Sphalerite (self-collected by Willard Wulff)

Item Description

A near full cabinet sized display specimen from the famous locality at Joplin. There are not a lot of species found in this area, but the Sphalerites stand out as some of the better known examples from anywhere in the United States. 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 ). The piece comes with a typed label from Wulff on one of his famous 3x5 index cards and according to his records, this piece was self-collected. Sharp, complex, deep reddish-black color crystals of Sphalerite with the classic "ruby jack" appearance sit on matrix. The largest crystal measures up to 2.7 cm. Good quality save the periphery where the piece is contacted from being removed from the pocket wall. Classic material from Joplin.