Sulfur from Michigan, Maybee it’s fluorescent, Maybee not…

Contributed by: Chris Clemens
Date: Apr 24th, 2026
Locality: Maybee Quarry, Maybee, Exeter Township, Monroe County, Michigan, USA (See on Mindat)
Size: 8 x 3.6 x 10.8 cm
Weight: 269 g

Description:
It has been reported that crystals of sulfur from Maybee, Michigan, occasionally show weak yellow fluorescence under UV (Robbins, Fluorescence- Gem and Minerals Under Ultraviolet Light, 1994, p. 192). This is a specimen of yellow sulfur crystals on a bed of calcite and celestine druse, from the Maybee Quarry, Maybee, Monroe County, Michigan. This piece shows bright fluorescence and phosphorescence under UV, but is the sulfur fluorescent? Looking at the photos taken under UV, the sulfur appears to be fluorescing a dim yellow/green color, especially under longwave. However, the sulfur is quite translucent. Could it be that the sulfur is simply transmitting the light emitted by the calcite and celestine? As an experiment, I took a small piece of sulfur from this specimen and checked it for fluorescence (in the absence of matrix) under all UV wavelengths. Alas, it is not fluorescent. Therefore, the apparent fluorescence of the sulfur on this specimen is simply the result of the transmission of the fluorescent light emitted by the calcite and celestine. My search for the elusive fluorescent sulfur from Maybee continues...

Originally posted by Chris Clemens on Nature's Rainbows in 2016.