Detailed information
Species
Allargentum, Native Silver
Dimensions
70 x 123 x 44
mm
Weight
408 g
Locality
Schlema-Hartenstein District Erzgebirge Saxony, Germany
Condition
No recorded repairs
Originally labelled as Allargentum, this sizable and dense hackly mass of silver-rich ore from the Schlema-Hartenstein District in Saxony, Germany may well have more to it than originally thought. One edge, where it was presumably in contact with the vein wall, shows slickenside lines of movement and a sliver of greyish sulphide or sulphosalts. Alongside this, and presumably etched with acid to expose the texture, is the purer, richer silver mineralization which includes extremely bright silvery metallic hackly metal which appears to be more likely Native Silver, alongside more irregular darker tarnished masses of what is probably Allargentum. A little white residual Calcite is also embedded within these metallic silver phases. The hackly Native Silver-Allargentum vein section reaches 3.5 cm wide and 12 cm in length, making this a very rich silver-bearing specimen from Schlema-Hartenstein and its overall tarnish and historic patina suggests a significant age. The original typed German label states just "Allargentum. Hartenstein, Sachsen".