Leadhillite: Beer Cellar mine, Granby, Missouri USA

Description

Species: Leadhillite, Cerussite, Galena

Locality: Beer Cellar mine, Granby, Tri-State Mining District, Newton County, Missouri, USA

Dimensions: 5.5 x 5 x 3.4 cm.

Ex. Dan Weinrich Collection, Ex. A.E. Foote

SOLD

Leadhillite specimens from Missouri’s “Beer Cellar mine” (really a small, oxidized lead orebody encountered in the sinking of a home foundation (“beer cellar” in 1895) are real “Hen’s Teeth” of the Midwest, and are very, very rarely seen on the market. This one-time find in 1895 produced probably fewer than one hundred good specimens, and most are locked away in museums and private collections today. This is a superb and quite sizable (for the find) group of sharp, well-formed yellow-green leadhillite crystals to ~8 mm with small cerussite crystals (unusual for the find) on massive leadhillite and galena matrix and is from the personal collection of well-known Saint Louis dealer Dan Weinrich. An old label and price tag ($3.50, real money for the 1890’s!) from famed mineral dealer A.E. Foote is glued to the bottom, describing it as “leadhillite with galenite (sic), Beer Cellar mine, Granby Missouri.” A great Beer Cellar mine leadhillite, in great condition and with sharp, translucent crystals on a sizable matrix. Annette Slade photos. Rare!!