Sphalerite with Galena

Item Description

A hard to find old time specimen from the lesser known lead-producing Cowgreen area, Co. Durham, England. This locality closed in the 1950s according to the research I found on the Durham Mining Museum website (http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/c902.htm), and dates back to the 1850s. At the very least, this specimen is 60 years old, and probably closer to 100 years. It features complex, sharp, lustrous, rich black, "Marmatite" Sphalerite groups measuring up to 1.0 cm which are associated with silvery cubic crystals of Galena measuring up to 1.1 cm sitting atop rhombic white Ankerite with translucent white Calcite on the back, and white Quartz on the bottom. Great shape all around, and it actually displays well on its own without a base or clay. It's interesting due to the fact that one side features all of the good Sphalerite crystals, and the other side hosts the Galena crystals.