Barylite with willemite, calcite, and serpentine in massive honey-yellow hedyphane. This specimen closely matches the opening two lines of Palache’s (1935) description: “At Franklin barylite is found in plates embedded in hedyphane with some willemite. The plates are more or less brecciated and are cemented with thin films of serpentine.” Here barylite appears pale gray and is present in two grains toward the top of the specimen, the larger an 18 x 6 mm tabular cross-section. A layer 2-4 mm thick of green-fluorescing, pale gray willemite is visible on edge across the top of the specimen, and on the back of the specimen as a 20 x 32 mm surface. Red-fluorescing calcite occurs as thin layers in barylite and as grains of varying size in hedyphane; the serpentine films are brown and nonfluorescent, and are visible throughout the specimen. In this assemblage, hedyphane is yellow in visible light and fluoresces weak orange under midwave ultraviolet light. The specimen is from the collection of Richard Bostwick, who acquired it from the collection of E. Packard “Sunny” Cook.
Identifier: BYL1a Locality: Franklin mine, Franklin Specimen size: 5.5 x 4 x 2 cm Photo credit: Earl R. Verbeek
