Collection of moldavites

Moldavite (Czech: Vltavín) is an olive-green or dull greenish vitreous substance possibly formed by a meteorite impact. It is one kind of tektite. It was named by A. Dufrnoy for the town of Moldauthein (Czech: Týn nad Vltavou) in Bohemia (the Czech Republic), where it occurs. It is sometimes cut and polished as an ornamental stone under the name of pseudo-chrysolite. Its bottle-green glass color led to its being commonly called Bouteillen-stein, and at one time it was regarded as an artificial product, but this view is opposed to the fact that no remains of glassworks are found in the neighborhood of its occurrence; moreover, pieces of the substance are widely distributed in Tertiary and early Pleistocene deposits in Bohemia and Moravia. For a long time, it was generally believed to be a variety of obsidian, but its difficult fusibility and its chemical composition are rather against its volcanic origin.

Moldavite occurrences are reported mainly from Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic), with occasional finds in Waldviertel (Austria) and Lusatia (Germany). It is also widely argued that the moldavite glass was formed 15 million years ago during the impact of a giant meteorite in present-day Nördlinger Ries. Splatters of rocks that were melted by the impact cooled while they were actually airborne and most fell in central Bohemia - traversed by Vltava river (German: Moldau). As such the glass can be found in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.

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Expeditions and finds

Expedition on November 6th - 8th, 2009 (south of Bohemia)
Expedition on March 27th - 28th, 2009 (south of Bohemia)
    Beautiful find in 28th March 2009
Expedition in years 2007 - 2008 in czech articles (PDF)
Expedition on October 25th - 27th, 2008 (south of Bohemia)
Expedition on May 8th - 10th, 2008 (south of Bohemia)
Expedition on October 5th - 6th, 2007 (south of Bohemia)
Expedition on April 21th - 23th, 2006 (south of Bohemia)
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March 30th, 2014
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