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Tips for my first mineral show
  
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Tom Mazanec




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PostPosted: May 07, 2016 11:32    Post subject: Tips for my first mineral show  

Next weekend I plan to go to a mineral show in North Olmstead. Is there any advice for me?
What I should/shouldn't do
How much cash to bring
What to look for
Anything else?
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Tobi
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PostPosted: May 07, 2016 11:55    Post subject: Re: Tips for my first mineral show  

Tom Mazanec wrote:
Next weekend I plan to go to a mineral show in North Olmstead.
Is there any advice for me?
What I should/shouldn't do
How much cash to bring
What to look for
Anything else?

- Bring as much cash as you can afford ;-)
- Buy the best specimens you can get for the cash (better two or three really good ones than ten mediocre ones)
- Try to bargain for prices lower than declared on the specimens
- If there is anything to doubt on a specimen (glued, dyed, wrong locality etc.), don't take it
- Take a walk around the whole show before you purchase anything (the same specimen may have a much lower price at the other end of the hall)
- If you like a specimen but haven't seen the whole show yet, ask the dealer to reserve it for a while
- Don't be there too late, much of the good stuff will be sold during the first hours of the show
- Don't take any specimen without label
- If it is a large show and you're not a millionaire, make a list of minerals you badly want for your collection, this will help you to decide if there are too much good specimens
- Take a camera and post a show report here on FMF ;-)
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Bob Harman




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PostPosted: May 07, 2016 12:21    Post subject: Re: Tips for my first mineral show  

TOM, TOBI had some good advice. First of all you just missed the Cincinnati mineral show that was last weekend. It is one of the biggest and best in the Midwest and well worth attending next year if you are still interested.
My advice to you is to attend this first show with little cash to first educate yourself. See the offerings and price ranges and don't be in any hurry to start spending $$$ until you know exactly what you want to collect and what is available in your price range.
Do you want a general collection or a narrowly focused one (for example only Ohio minerals might be a good start). Do you want to collect only very small specimens or larger examples? Do you want just natural minerals or lapidary or polished examples? In other words you have lots to consider before plunking your first dollars down. Then, with Tobi's good advice, go for it! Have fun and CHEERS......BOB
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GneissWare




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PostPosted: May 07, 2016 21:41    Post subject: Re: Tips for my first mineral show  

As a dealer in minerals, perhaps surprisingly my view is quite similar to Bob's.

Go to your first show with little or no cash, and look at specimens that grab you. Try to find other specimens of the same type at other dealers, and look at pricing. Do be embarrassed to ask what makes one specimen more valuable than another, in a particular dealer's booth -- but don't ask one dealer about another's specimens. What you are likely to find is that pricing varies, sometimes by alot, depending on the dealer, and how much that dealer really likes a specimen. So, you are also looking to find dealers who maybe don't appreciate specimens that you really like, as they will likely be cheaper.

Your initial goal needs to be educating yourself, so that when you come in with a bag of cash you leave with a specimen you love and did not pay overpay.
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Tobi
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PostPosted: May 08, 2016 03:40    Post subject: Re: Tips for my first mineral show  

Bob Harman wrote:
... and don't be in any hurry to start spending $$$ until you know exactly what you want to collect and what is available in your price range.
Of course not in a hurry, there should always be a sense behind any purchase ;-)

Bob Harman wrote:
Do you want a general collection or a narrowly focused one. Do you want to collect only very small specimens or larger examples? Do you want just natural minerals or lapidary or polished examples? In other words you have lots to consider before plunking your first dollars down. Then, with Tobi's good advice, go for it! Have fun and CHEERS......BOB
The best advice is to make some decisions BEFORE you got to your first show. Read this forum, read books & magazines, visit museums, and then you should have at least some ideas about what to focus on.

You need some ideas what could become a collection focus? I can't speak for fossils or polished rocks, only for minerals, but there are many ways to set a focus for your own collection. Bob mentioned Ohio minerals as a good start, why not? But what do YOU like the most? There are many possible ideas:

- Certain minerals or mineral groups, e.g. quartz, fluorite, beryl, tourmaline, garnet
- Minerals from a certain country, area or mine, e.g. Peru, Morocco, Tsumeb, Dalnegorsk, Huanggang, Erzgebirge/Saxony, Tri-State-District
- Minerals with some scientific commonalities, e.g. phosphates, copper minerals, hexagonal crystals
- Any other idea that pleases you, e.g. rare minerals, gem minerals, pseudomorphs, ore minerals, blue or yellow stuff, fluorescent minerals, inclusions, aesthetic minerals ...
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Tom Mazanec




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PostPosted: May 09, 2016 11:38    Post subject: Re: Tips for my first mineral show  

As I mentioned in other posts, I am planning on focusing on micromounts. I would like as much variety as I can get.
My problem is I have trouble driving, and my cousin will have to take me to these places. I want to have a trip to Ohio Caverns this summer (I love caves too), maybe I can squeeze in a trip to a museum.
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Jamison Brizendine




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PostPosted: May 11, 2016 10:38    Post subject: Re: Tips for my first mineral show  

Tom,

I have been going to this show for many years when it was called the “Berea Show”. The show used to be at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, but they moved to the Soccer Sportsplex in North Olmstead. This show used to be a bit bigger when I first started collected ten years ago, but the amount of dealers has slowly been declining. I think one of the reasons is that show isn’t advertised as well as it could have. I wouldn’t call this particular show “dead” yet though…

From the past chatter with dealers, set up at this location has been especially challenging. The major complaint from dealers is that it has been difficult to adequately light specimens, because the setup is in the middle of an AstroTurf field (no outlets) and having enough extensions cords has been a problem in the past. I think the first year it was here the circuit boards actually overloaded.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also attends this show to answer questions. They provide free brochures and pamphlets about the local geology and have a few books for sale. I would highly recommend giving them a chat as they can provide directions.

I would recommend bringing a portable cheap LED flashlight and a hand lens if you own both of these items to get a real good look at specimens. Also bringing a small pad of paper you can buy at a Dollar Store will help if you find specimens you like and contact information with dealers. As I say…advice and looks are free. I personally know many of the dealers who have attended the show, they are all very friendly and are willing to go out of there way if you have a question about one of their specimens.

If you’re looking for micromounts there are a few dealers who carry inexpensive micromounts who attend this show too.
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Tom Mazanec




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PostPosted: May 15, 2016 14:35    Post subject: Re: Tips for my first mineral show  

Jamison Brizendine:
I told my ride (my cousin) how you told me this used to be in the Berea Fairgrounds but it was moved to the Soccer Sportsplex. He said that was fortunate. Because of the snow.
Yes, we had snow. In mid-May. It didn't stick, but still...
The best micromount vendor (in fact the only micromount vendor) was

EDIT: ON SECOND THOUGHT I DECIDED TO LET THEM REMAIN ANONYMOUS

My plan was to get a fair variety for as little expense as possible (My goal is to have a specimen of every mineral species (ain't gonna happen, but still) but I am retired on disability, and most of my working life was near minimum wage, so...)
I picked out 14 micromounts, for a dollar each plus tax. In no particular order, they are

Stilbite
Cornwall Iron Mine, Lebanon Co. PA
Analcime & Calcite
Upper New Street, Patterson, NJ
Garnet Crystal
Hayes Ledge Quarry, Greenwood, Maine
Dolomite xls
Dolomite Products Quarry, Walworth, NY
Cacoxenite
Indian Mountain, Cherokee County, Alabama
Pyrite crystal (my second favorite)
Std Min Quarry, Glendon, NC
Pyromorphite
Brookdale Mine, Phoenixville. PA
Wurtzite crystals
Brush Creek Formation, Railroad cut, Donohoe, PA
Montmorillonite
Tamminen Quarry, Greenwood, Maine
Albite crystals (they make a tiny cross)
Poudrette Quarry, Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec
Pyrochroite
Franklin, Sussex County, New Jersey
Prehnite
Upper New Street, Paterson, NJ
Sphalerite xls
Cornwall Iron Mine, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Quartz crystal doubly terminated (saved best for last)
White Haven, Lehigh Co, PA

I took a picture of the whole show, if you want me to post that, but vendors were leery of me posting pictures of their wares, so I didn't take any.
Thanks, everybody, for the advice.
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