NATIVE SILVER SPECIMENS

Despite the abundance of silver items throughout the world, silver in its natural state, or native silver, is the rarest variety of the metal. Native silver is the uncombined form of silver, one of the few precious metallic elements to occur in native form. It most commonly occurs mixed with other elements like gold, mercury, arsenic, and antimony. Though it has an isometric crystal system, silver lacks a set crystalline structure and forms in flakes, small plates, or spindly, branching tendrils known as dendritic masses when in its native state. Branching varieties of native silver make an intriguing display piece and are highly prized by collectors and those who appreciate cool things.