Kupletskite (very rare)

Item Description

Here we have a great rarity from the Poudrette Quarry at Mount Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. This is a wonderful thumbnail sized specimen of Kupletskite, a very rare potassium sodium manganese iron inosilicate species, named after Russian geologist Boris Kupletski and Russian mineralogist Elsa Kupletskaya. The species was first discovered in Russia, but some of the finest examples are those from Mount Saint-Hilaire. This piece is a lovely crystal group, free of matrix composed of thin, bladed, dark-brown, pseudo-metallic crystals with an adamantine luster. I'm sure most of you thumbnail collectors don't have one of these in your collections, and since this locality produced FAR less than it has in years past, this is a great opportunity to pick up a beautiful rarity for your collections. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#10866). This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.