Description
The universe has 13.8 billion years of history. Some of it fits in your hand. Sigillaria was a coal-swamp tree reaching 30 meters, with a bark pattern of hexagonal leaf scars that looks like a reptile’s scales. The Carboniferous forests of 310 million years ago were composed of such trees alongside giant horsetails and ferns — all now extinct genera. Their compressed remains are literally the coal seams that powered the industrial revolution.
This specimen originates from Carboniferous, Saarland, Germany, one of the world’s most significant localities for this type of material. Collectors and scientists have drawn from this region for generations, and for good reason: the combination of geological conditions here produces specimens of exceptional quality and clarity.
Every specimen is unique. Photographs approximate the visual experience, but the real thing — its weight, its luster under a raking light, the way it catches the corner of your eye — can only be experienced directly.
