Silver on Firebrick – Hettstedt (GER)

This piece is something unique. It is a piece of firebrick from a smelting furnace. The ores from the Mansfeld deposit, famous for copper mining but also for its silver deposits, were smelted in this furnace. During the smelting process, some of the silver remained on the bricks, forming a silver layer on the surface. This type must be extremely rare; I have only seen it once in 25 years of collecting. The smelter existed since 1695 and, after many renovations, was in operation until 2002.It is therefore both a piece of smelting history and a mineralogical object. A real rarity in the world of minerals.