Sulfur (classic material)

Item Description

Sulfur crystals from various localities in Sicily are among the best examples of this native element ever found. They are revered for their superior form, size, color and even gemminess. Here we have a fine display specimen featuring a predominant, sharp, well-formed, bright lemon yellow colored modified Sulfur crystal measuring 3.7 cm, with additional accenting Sulfur sitting proudly on matrix. The main crystal is in fine condition, showing smooth defined faces and good internal gemminess/translucency. The side of the matrix is contacted where the piece was removed from the pocket wall, but the main crystal itself is essentially damage-free, as I can't find any contacts or nicks with the naked eye.
For reference, this species should be spelled S-U-L-F-U-R (not sulphur) as both the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry along with the British Royal Society of Chemistry adopted this spelling in the 1990s (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur#Spelling_and_etymology). Wikipedia also states that, "Sulfur is derived from the Latin word sulpur, which was Hellenized to sulphur in the erroneous belief that the Latin word came from Greek."
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".