Cerussite on Pyromorphite (RARE old locality specimen)

Item Description

An incredibly rare and fine quality specimen from the Joplin Field in Missouri, best known for its lead / zinc deposits, but NOT for secondary ore minerals. This piece is quite possibly the finest example of this super-rare material that I can remember handling. This small cabinet specimen hosts sharp, well-formed, slightly smoky colored twinned crystals and single blades with a satiny interior measuring up to 7 mm, sitting atop a thin layer of gentle green colored botryoidal Pyromorphite on host rock matrix. The accompanying note with the specimen states that this is, "very rare and historic material from the early 1900s.". The note also states that according to Evan Jones, the piece is from the Beer Cellar Mine, but Pyromorphite is not reported from this locality, so we're leaving it simply as coming from Joplin, as we've seen confirmed pieces of Cerussite with Pyromorphite from that area. Additionally, the piece was previously valued at $2,000 by Larry Conklin (though the note states $2,500), and according to Conklin, could sell for more. I don't necessarily disagree with the value, as this a significant, important and RARE locality specimen that would be essentially impossible to place in today's market.
From the collection of George Elling, a prominent East Coast collector; with a label from the private collection of Larry Conklin and Dr. Otto Kuntze.