Fossils
& Minerals
Native Copper
Copper is not rare; however, it is indeed
very rare to find pure copper in veins, and nowhere
else on Earth did the veins of copper get as big as
they did in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Popov's has a significant display of copper
specimens including both float and fissure copper. Float
copper pieces have smooth and rounded edges as a result
of being pushed and rolled around by the glaciers. Fissure
copper pieces still have jagged and sharp edges due
to the texture of the rocky cracks that they were mined
from.
The copper bookends are cut from pure
copper nugget that were found lying on top of the ground
in northern Michigan. Nowhere else in the world does
that happen! That's because only in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan, thousands of years ago, glaciers repeatedly
raked across large veins of pure copper. This raking
movement stripped off hunks of copper from the exposed
veins. Then the forward movement of the glaciers acted
much like a modern day rock tumbler, rounding and smoothing
the edges of the loose copper pieces.
Except for a special lacquer coating applied to prevent
tarnishing of the cut and polished surfaces, the shape
and coloring of the rest of the exterior surface is
completely natural.
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Float copper paperweights &
specimens |
Float copper bookends
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Float copper specimens
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Fissure copper specimens
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Fissure copper sculpture
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