The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History is having a gold rush - one in which prospectors can gaze at glittering specimens of radiating golden leaves.

An exhibit opening at the museum on Saturday, April 14, will showcase 23 pieces of California gold, including unusually large examples as well as smaller ones featuring extremely rare crystallographic forms.

"This collection is incredible," said Richard Kissel, the Peabody's director of exhibitions and public programs. "The gold specimens on view are of superior quality - impressive physically and stunningaesthetically. The exhibit highlights the specimens' beauty while offering insight into the history and science of gold mining."

Several of the specimens on display resemble gilded coral formations: Leaves of gold overlap, intersect, and form jagged branches. The largest specimen measures about a foot across. Most were mined over the past 25 years,although two specimens of crystallized gold were mined in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush.

The exhibit also features a collection of historical instruments and artifacts related to gold mining in California, including a mining pan filled with gold dust, a balance for weighing specimens, an instrument formeasuring the velocity of air in mines to ensure proper ventilation, a field chemical lab called a "blowpipe kit," and a silver candlestick decorated with mining-related symbols that miners used for illumination whileunderground.

To read the complete article, see:
Peabody showcases 'stunning' specimens of California gold(https://news.yale.edu/2018/04/12/peabody-showcases-stunning-specimens-california-gold)