Nickel

Nickel is known to have been discovered in 1751. As recently as a hundred years ago, it was still considered to be a worthless variety of copper. Miners in south-eastern Germany mistook a mixture of nickel and arsenic for copper. The name of the metal comes from the German word "Nickel" which was the name given to an evil spirit who was reputed to interfere with the work of miners.

Features: 

Nickel is a hard, silvery-white metal, which is malleable and ductile. 
The metal can take on a high polish and it resists tarnishing in air. 
Nickel is ferromagnetic and is a fair conductor of heat and electricity.
Most nickel compounds are blue or green.

It can have manybut its favored oxidation state is +2

like all transition metals it has high density, 

 has very high melting point (like most TM) 

 and can be used as a catalyst (as in the case of most TM)