CINNABAR with NATIVE MERCURY on SIDERITE

SPECIMEN DESCRIPTION

An old-time miniature specimen from the famous historic European mercury mining region at Stahlberg, Nordpfälzer Land, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Unusually iridescent crystalline Cinnabar lines small cavities within a veinlet, with a rare sub mm diameter bleb of silvery metallic Native Mercury in a small cavity. On the opposite side of this thin specimen a 2.3 x 1.6 cm cavity is lined with well-formed dark brown bladed Siderite microcrystals. The specimen is accompanied by two previous German collection labels - one modern, the other very old indeed (with slight damage).