Franklinite (TYPE LOCALITY) on Calcite & Willemite

Item Description

Dramatic clusters, set in Calcite, of textbook Franklinite crystals from the famous Franklin Mining District, for which this is the TYPE LOCALITY. These sharp, lustrous octahedrons reach up to 2.2 cm on edge, and they are distributed nicely across the white Calcite, which has the intense, reddish-orange fluorescence you would expect. Franklinite tends to be very brittle, so that the wear you see on the crystals is not at all unusual for the species. Franklin is one of the most prolific and renowned localities in the world, known especially for its suite of fluorescent minerals. In fact, there are even traces of Willemite, which fluoresces a vivid, neon green, and makes this small cabinet piece even more of a classic Franklin combination. Specimens like this with such clean crystals in isolated and contrasting matrix, shoudl be valued north of $1000.