[Fortunes and misfortunes of a metal]

The history of amalgam (which essentially consists of mercury and silver) is briefly reviewed, from its origin through different civilizations. The various ways by which silver was extracted during colonial times are mentioned; credit for invention of the method, however, still remains unknown. Finally, the study lists the purposes for which the amalgam was originally used, mainly for the benefit of the mining industry, and only much later introduced into medicine and hence onto odontology.