Arsenic - Svornost Mine, Jáchymov, Czech Republic

⚠️ Note: Arsenic is toxic if ingested or if dust is inhaled — see handling notes below.

This native arsenic specimen comes from the Svornost Mine in Jáchymov (historically Joachimsthal), one of the most historically important mining districts in the world. Silver was discovered here in 1512, launching a mining boom that gave the region's coinage — the "Joachimsthaler" — the name that would eventually become "dollar." The district later became a major source of uranium and pitchblende, and is the type locality for over a hundred mineral species, with the Svornost Mine in particular renowned for its rich native-element and arsenide mineralization in a complex vein system cutting through Variscan-age metasedimentary rock. Native arsenic from this locality typically presents as granular to botryoidal masses with a dull, matte, steel-gray to tin-white surface, tarnishing toward darker gray with age and air exposure.

Approx. specimen size: 45mm x 20mm x 20mm

This is a classic, historically significant reference specimen rather than a showy display piece — native arsenic is valued by mineral collectors more for its rarity, locality significance, and mineralogical interest than for visual appeal. Standard precautions apply: wash hands after handling, avoid generating or inhaling dust from the specimen surface, and store away from children. A solid addition to a native element suite or a Jáchymov-focused locality collection.