FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Screenname]

These cards I got at a garage sale and I don't know who mounted them but I can't help but think a few are wrong such as the amethyst, malachite, sulfur, and a few others I just wanted to know if any of them are wrong, if you can't read them all in the picture just let me know which ones you can't read and I will get out the charts and tell you what it says. I just want to know if the person who labeled them got them all right.

[Tobi]

It's the same as usual with such "beginner's assemblies": Some of these pieces are easy to identify, some are more difficult and there are many you can't identify just by a picture. Just see that there's a wild mixture of mineral species names (e.g. sulphur, Baryte), mineral group names (e.g. feldspar, garnet), rocks that consist of different minerals (e.g. marble, sandstone) and even very vague names like "manganese ore" or "iron ore".

There are some that may be labeled wrong (or at least with an inadequate name), but it is mostly impossible to tell that in a reliable way, sorry. Many of them seem to be right, like sulphur, pyrite, lepidolite or chrysocolla, but most of them are not distinctive enough to tell whether they are labeled right or wrong.

Cheers!

[Peter Megaw]

Since you are now the proud possesor of some mineral identification books as well as this beginners kit, you have an excellent opportunity for self-education! The kit has no collector value, so do like students do in mineralogy classes figure them out for yourself. Get yourself some basic mineral identification tools...copper penny, nail, quartz crystal, streak plate (back of a ceramic tile is fine), dilute acid (vinegar works) and take the pieces off the card...marking each piece and its position on the card with a number ...NOT the name (Sharpie works great for this).

Now you're ready to start physical testing. Note the harndess, streak, cleavage etc and work your way through the identification tables until you are satisfied with your identificatoin...THEN check it against the card. If it agrees the card was right, if it doesn't look at the characteristics the piece shold have had if the card was right and see if you missed something...or they did.

As Tobias mentioned, this kit includes a mixture of rocks and minerals, so start with the pieces that look homogenous, identify those minerals...and then look at the mixtures and see if you can pick out one or more of the minerals that compose the rock and work out a rock name from there.

[Screenname]

Thanks for the help you two I will get those out and start testing them on my own, I just thought at first appearance that some weren't right but I think like the Malachite that it is actually a stone containing the Malachite. Also they are glued down and didn't want to disturb it but then again I would like to replace some of the ones such as the Malachite if it is in fact that and replace them with better specimens I am sorry for taking up your time I didn't realize how hard it would be to identify just from a photo.

[Peter Megaw]

My guess is they'reglued on with a water soluble glue...soak in water for a while and they'll come off

[Screenname]

Thanks perhaps I dismantle it and test the and perhaps make my own chart I will search this site for techniques on making my own ID chart.