Native Bismuth

A superb, nugget-like large thumbnail of intergrown Native Bismuth crystals, many of which display good terminations and flashes of this metal’s characteristic peacock iridescence.  Bismuth has an atomic number 83 in the periodic table and its name is thought to have originated during the 1660’s.  It was first isolated and characterised in 1738, and prior to this date was often confused with lead and tin.  The rounded crystals measure to a little over 1.5 cm long and a few exhibit rounded terminations along one edge of the specimen.  It is silvery-grey grading to pale brassy-gold with a speckled metallic lustre, occasional subtle peacock iridescence and the odd tiny milky Quartz crystal.  There are a few minor cracks traversing one small zone, but these are stable and constrained.  A great Native Bismuth from Niederschlema in Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany.