CINNABAR with NATIVE MERCURY

SPECIMEN DESCRIPTION

This large thumbnail specimen is from one of Europe's great Mercury-mining regions - Landsberg (Moschellandsberg) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It doesn't come with any old labels but was part of a much larger suite of historic Mercury specimens. A compact vein of Siderite runs up the length of the sample and at one end it becomes concentrated with red Cinnabar as crystallized masses, but there is significant damage to the surface. Amongst the crevices and cavities within the Cinnabar are microscopic globules of silvery and slightly golden Native Mercury and perhaps an amalgam of some sort.