Leadhillite

Unknown Owner

An excellent example of a very rare American classic. In 1895 somebody decided to dig into the ground in this area to create a beer cellar. In the process they struck rich ore. There was once series of fine pockets with excellent leadhillite crystals. This would have been in the early part of 1895. After this was exhausted, none were found again, except for the occasional small piece or shard on the old my dumps. These were expensive at the time, note that this piece cost $10 in the early 20th century. When checking advertisements in the old magazines of the time, the most expensive specimens were listed it 25 and $35. This example shows pearly crystals measuring to almost 1.0 cm in size on matrix. The specimen comes with an antique label showing that this was acquired from noted American dealer Lazard Cahn in 1914. This label is shown at the end of the video.