🙂 Noted
| Category | Properties & Descriptions |
|---|---|
| Material & Construction | ○ Made entirely of mithril (true-silver / silver-steel), mined by Dwarves in Moria ○ Small coat of mail (corslet/vest), close-woven of many fine mithril rings ○ Originally crafted for a young Elf-prince long ago by Dwarves ○ Supplied with a belt of pearls and crystals (sometimes mentioned with a light helm) ○ Beaten and worked like copper, polished like glass |
| Physical Qualities | ○ Harder than tempered steel ○ Yet lighter than a linen shirt ○ Supple / flexible almost as linen ○ Cold as ice to the touch ○ Does not tarnish or grow dim with age ○ Soft and malleable in pure form, but forged into very strong metal |
| Aesthetic Qualities | ○ Beautiful like common silver, but far fairer ○ Shimmers with appearance like light on rippling water / sea ○ When shaken, the rings tinkle like rain falling in a pool ○ Gems set upon it glitter like stars ○ Described as exceptionally fair beyond anything commonly seen or heard |
| Value & Rarity | ○ Worth more than ten times the value of gold (in earlier times) ○ Now beyond price due to the loss of Moria and scarcity of new mithril ○ Valued greater than the Shire and everything in it ○ A kingly gift; desired by all peoples (Dwarves, Elves, Men, Orcs) ○ Sauron himself would pay any price for such an item |
| Protective Performance (Demonstrated by Use) | ○ Saved Bilbo in the Battle of Five Armies (battlefield use) ○ Turned an Orc-chieftain's spear in Moria (only a bruise to Frodo) ○ Deflected an arrow on the Anduin River ○ Withstood Shelob's sting without being pierced (force still caused injury) ○ Worn concealed under clothing for long journeys without hindrance |
| Other References & Implications | ○ Part of Smaug's hoard for many years; retained perfect condition ○ If its nature were widely known, it would draw hunters to the Shire ○ Arrows would be in vain against it (implied near-impenetrability) ○ Compared poetically to "a pretty hobbit-skin to wrap an elven-princeling in" ○ Mithril material also used by Elves for other fine works (e.g. ithildin) |
Based solely on descriptions in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.
Looks like my post coulda been a little shorta.