The rare mercury selenide mineral Tiemannite was first discovered in the Clausthal-Zellerfeld Mining District, Harz, Lower Saxony, Germany in about 1825, but was not officially named until 1855. Prior to 1855, it was called Quecksilberselen. This large miniature specimen from the region of the Type Locality is very rich, and has history to it too. It is accompanied by an old, and slightly worn, handwritten label from C.W. Boree in Elbingerode who records another earlier name for this species - Selenquecksilber. This is thought to be Christian Wilhelm Boree (1831-1908) and he probably wrote his label during the early 1850s before the name was revised. Interestingly, Elbingerode is just 15 miles east of the Clausthal-Zellerfeld Mining District. The previous owner, a well-known German collector, noted that it was probably from Grube Charlotte. Prior to this it was in the collections at the University of Rostock. The specimen itself, consists of a relatively massive vein of pure Tiemannite, about 3 to 4 mm thick, but split along one side to expose a large section of the mineral. This is a very rich and rare specimen of Tiemannite from this important region.
