ELECTRUM. There is a natural Electrum which is found in mines, and another that is artificial made with the addition of a certain quantity of silver. If this quantity exceeds a fifth part, the Electrum will not bear the anvil. Homer speaks of Electrum in his description of King Menelaus’s palace. Helena consecrated a cup made of Electrum in the Temple of Minerva, in the Isle of Lindos. The true Electrum shines much stronger by the light than silver. Cups made of this metal are said to discover the poison which is put into them, by a sort of brightness like the rain-bow, and a noise as if there were fire.
Library / Calmet's Dictionary of the Holy Bible, Complete and Unabridged
Volume I · E
Electrum
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Augustin Calmet, O.S.B., “Electrum,” in Calmet's Dictionary of the Holy Bible, Complete and Unabridged, English translation, Mind of the Church, https://mindofthechurch.com/works/calmet-dictionary/e/electrum/.