Witherite with Fluorite, Bethel Level, Minerva #1 Mine, Minerva Oil Company,Cave-in-Rock District, Southern Illinois Miniature 3 x 4 x 4.5 cm $250. Online 11/14 SOLD
NSMW11022
Doubly terminated, waxy luster witherite with associated fluorite and lenses of white calcite. Characteristic pseudohexagonal symmetry and pinacoidal termination. The finest witherite in the district is found in the Minerva #1 Mine and in fact probably the best in the world exists here. This specimen was collected in the peak production days when the district seemed to have no end and specimens were counted in the hundreds of thousands. It is fantastic to know that the specimen was collected in 1954: an exceedingly rare bit of information. Ralph E. Merrill Collection #195. In great condition.