''Melted-look'' Galena (Leadville) Lee Burnett Coll.

Item Description

Rare style, old, rich large galena from the famous mines at Leadville. Striking, densely intergrown, lustrous, metallic-gray, "melted look" galena cuboctahedrons comprise this impressive piece. Skeletal and fortification features dramatically enhance the crystals, which reach 3.5 cm across. Scattered patches of drusy quartz, a few quartz crystals and granular sphalerite and pyrite on the basal attachment are fine accessories. Ex Lee Burnett Collection of Morrison, Colorado. According to the Burnett label, the specimen was collected in 1960 from the Bonanza Mine in the Leadville District. MINDAT does not list a Bonanza Mine in the District. The collector was probably hiding the true mine location. An impressive, large rare style old galena from Leadville.

PLEASE NOTE:  This specimen is possibly from the Bonanza District in Saguache County, Colorado.  For a time this district was referred to as the "New Leadville", and some old information in the literature reflects this.  Additionally, there are dozens of localities in the Bonanza District where Galena has been reported, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that this piece might be from the area, as the style is not necessarily reflective of most Galena specimens from Leadville that we've seen over the years.