FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

[Jordi Fabre]

[Jordi Fabre]

The end (and more) 😉

[Jordi Fabre]

Barcelona 02/26/2017

[Jordi Fabre]

Miscellaneous photos from John S. White

[Bob Harman]

I debated whether to add this reply onto the 2017 Tucson thread or start a new somewhat related topic, but here goes. And my reply is meant to be direct, thought provoking and even perhaps a bit brutal.

I have been to Tucson 5 times in the past 12 years, but not this past one despite it being on Midwest minerals and having one of my specimens displayed as part of the Indiana State Museum case. Why I did not go, I question myself, but I made the decision not to travel alone and no one wanted to go out there with me this year. So, I have been following all the pix and while they are quite interesting, I find that all the unidentified folks are as unrewarding as looking at and maybe buying unlabeled mineral specimens. Unidentified people, like unlabeled mineral specimens are both no-nos!

The pix also show part of another looming problem. Many of us collectors are getting up there in age. Sure there are youngsters and younger adult collectors, but going to regional and especially national shows and looking at the pix of the attendees at these regional and national shows, shows many collectors well over 65, even into their later 70s, and older. I am almost 74 now and traveling less. I suspect within a few short years there will be a lot of us older folks no longer traveling to the shows. Will we be replaced by a newer younger crowd in the same numbers as previously??? Who knows!

The attendance at the big US national shows has, over the past several years, also shown a significant decline. This includes this year's Tucson show. This was even mentioned as part of the Collector's Edge online summary of the show. The Spann's, especially Gail, is very enthusiastic making each show seem like all is "wine and roses", but unfortunately it is not. She does need to keep it up as enthusiasm generates more enthusiasm!
As to sales, there are always dealers who do well and some who do not. This is a complex interplay of the economy, the specific dealer's merchandise and the prices etc. Hi end dealers, with their clientele and the right specimens seem to do okay; there will always be hi end collectors buying hi end collectibles of whatever they collect, but many middle range and lower end dealers are having problems as travel expenses rise, specimen prices rise and attendance falls off with the aging collector base. Some of these dealers seem saddled with flat after flat of more common mid-range stuff in unending abundance. Certainly different than collecting coins or stamps; maybe a turn off for some collectors to see ALL the specimens available.

Today younger collectors have their time taken up by other interests and fewer collecting sites to help get them interested and keep up their interest. This is, in part, reflected by the continued decline in circulation of mineral related periodicals. I receive the periodicals Rocks and Minerals and The Mineralogical Record. I have received them for 25 years now. Over the past several years, I have reviewed the year end paid circulation figures which are required to be available at the end of each year. For R&M 2015 (vol 90/6) was 5242 copies and 2016 (91/6) was 4508. For MR, a heavily endowed higher end periodical, 2015 (vol 46/6) there were 4791 paid copies distributed. For 2016 (vol 48/1) the total paid circulation was 4064.
Both periodicals have shown declining readerships in recent years. Maybe a reflection of less interested collectors including the younger ones for R&M???

Much more could be said. All that I have mentioned needs be openly discussed and addressed if our hobby, from the highest end collector to the routine collector base is to maintain and flourish in the upcoming years. BOB

[Woody Thompson]

Hi Bob, You've raised some good points here. While I really appreciate our regular and tireless reporters who keep us posted on Tucson and other shows, it is frustrating to see so many photos of unidentified people and specimens. Better to have one good photo of somebody who is named, than half a dozen or more virtually identical pics that could almost make a video if you strung them together.

I can usually spot a few old friends among the party crowds in the show reports, but many remain unrecognized, and I suspect the problem is worse for beginning collectors and readers in other countries.

The preponderance of older people in the hobby (and I'm one of them!) is getting alarming, but I wonder if some of this impression is because FMF and other websites focus on the high end shows, where the biggest budgets meet the best rocks. How about all those many other shows around Tucson? Do they attract younger collectors, or just more geezers who happen to prefer beads and agates?

Regardless, I hope the situation doesn't result in continued circulation declines for our leading mineral magazines. We are fortunate in the U.S. to have journals like Min Record and Rocks & Minerals, of such high quality and frequent publication!

[John S. White]

If these comments are meant for me I would like to respond. I did not intend for most of these photos to be posted. I did not want most of these photos to be posted. Actually, after I found that they had already been posted, I tried to provide names and descriptions, but gave up in frustration after having done the first batch. As indicated at the beginning of the second group these are mostly close friends and even identifying them would mean little to nearly all FMFers. I agree with Bob Harman that unidentified people in photos are not really very interesting. All I can say in this case is I apologize. I didn't even know how to delete them.

[Woody Thompson]

No problem, John! I was giving my impression of general Tucson photo coverage in recent years, in the hope of making it more informative for all readers. Rock on!

[Jordi Fabre]

[Enrique Llorens]

[Bob Harman]

As others have now clarified, my comment about unidentified people in the photos (and mineral specimens as well) was not directed at anyone in particular. Just a general observation, over the past several years, that this has been the case with the post-Tucson Show pictures.
Thanks for fixing it up for this year. BOB

[Chris Rayburn]

Just chiming in to say that I GREATLY appreciate the time and effort that all contributors put into these show reports. I'm sure I speak for many out here on the cyber sidelines. They give me a sense of connection to the shows and to the mineral community, even when I'm unable to attend. Many thanks to Jordi, Gail, John (intentional or not!), and all others who contribute to the reports.

[Robert Seitz]

I can honestly say that all my pictures were labeled and definitely were not from high-end shows. While I visit those shows for the specimens, the other shows meet my budget with good specimens. Further the quality at the 'peripheral' shows for run-of-mine people is often nothing to laugh at even in comparison to high end.

[Jordi Fabre]

Before the final conclusions a slight miscellany of images taken by Jordi Deusedes during the Show