GALENA
Specimen gal-18
$ 25.00Dims: 3.3" x 2.4" x 1.0" (8.4 x 6.1 x 2.5 cm)
Wt: 8.32 oz.(235.9 g)
Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
It is rather difficult to describe the Galena that makes up the bulk of this specimen, because I have not seen it look like this before. It occurs in what appears to be a heavily intergrown cluster of very rounded crystals that almost appear to have been partially melted. I am not sure, but maybe their rounded, almost botryoidal shape is due to water wear. The cluster has the standard metallic luster of Galena, but has a slightly brighter gray coloration than I am used to seeing, especially on undamaged crystal faces. Small, rounded clusters of dull white calcite partially cover the Galena- some of these clusters contain crystals of deep-yellow chalcopyrite. There is a single anhydrite crystal that is completely visible on one edge of the specimen. It measures almost exactly 1" (2.5 cm) long and is a milky white in color with a faint hint of blue. The specimen's underside, where it was broken off of its place of origin, shows what appears to be a core of sphalerite, around which the Galena grew. It has a black color with brown-red highlights and a bright, nearly adamantine luster. It is one of the more unusual Galena specimens that I have seen.