FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[silvia]

Hello David:

I am truly happy that you enjoy collecting minerals, and of course it is a very personal thing. Each collector has their own reasons for collecting.

I often tell many young folks to shop around as it is possible to make significant savings. Some vendors expect too much money, and some vendors may ask too little. It is also possible to obtain specimens at cost, at wholesale or at a discount if you develop a special relationship with a particular vendor.

Ultimately you reach a point in your collecting career when things do change. Your mineralogical palate becomes more refined and what was important in the past becomes less important in the present. My partner and I have many minerals in our collection that we bought years ago that we would not buy today. These specimens are now relegated to the reference section or the ore section of our collection. Some do indeed have sparkle but not enough to keep our palates satiated. Our current emphasis is on ore-bodies and we seek to collect mineral specimens, the best we can afford, representative of a particular ore-body, for example Panasqueira. This collecting style results in much fewer but more expensive purchases in any given year.

There is an old saying that states you get what you pay for, and though we may need to modify it somewhat for any particular case, I think it is generally true statement. That is why my partner and I encourage young collectors to be thrifty and patient. A few months of saving can help you acquire many fine things, not only fine minerals. It is also important to set goals. What sort of minerals do I wish to collect and in what size? As far as cost is concerned, size can be an important factor. Museum size specimens of very common minerals can be very expensive.

For us, we set a price range of $500USD to $10,000USD. We firmly believe that we will not get the quality we seek for under $500USD, and we also believe that no specimen in the style and mineral class we seek should cost more than $10,000USD, even for Museum size.

Silvia

[Philippe Durand]

I think and experience has shown that it is possible to have nice specimens at 200$ and under.

1. for that do not look at gem minerals.

2. you can easily find small cabinet, miniature, and thumbnails in that range.

3. you can accept small damage or imperfections at the periphery of the specimen (nice does not necessarily mean perfect).

4. you can aim at common species: calcite, quartz, barite, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, fluorite (not the bests in this time, I must admit), malachite, schorl, garnets, zeolites....

5. take your time and see as many specimens as possible, and you will find sleepers (underpriced specimens) in the dealer stocks.

6. some dealers do regular sales, and you can have good opportunities

7. avoid the top-notch dealers who have overpriced specimens even for a very basic specimen, but a long list of words to explain why this usual calcite must be worth $500.

8. with time and age, you could save money to buy more expensive minerals.

9. buy what YOU like, and makes YOU happy: it is your collection

10. if you self-collect, it is the best, and free :)

[minsur]

[Riccardo Modanesi]

Hi to everybody!
As I wrote in my introduction, I have been a collector of minerals since 1973, that time I was but a 8 1/2 year-old boy.
I fully agree with people who say "you can be happy of what you have even by spending little money", and it is true! In mineral shows you can find diamonds whose price doesn't overtake fifty euros (I don't want to make promotion of any kind, but the subject compels me to talk about money)! Moreover: if you visit a mineralogical site (i.e. a quarry or a mine), you can be proud of your specimens because YOU found them and YOU took them home!
What I disagree about is: why not gemstones? Many small gemstones take a very affordable price, even if they are diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds etc! So don't worry Silvia, you have all the time to collect beautiful crystals and minerals without spending too much money, or better: the amount which is in your possibilities! My collection started from a trip to Val Formazza (Piemonte, Italy), as some friends of mine started playing with quartz crystals we found there!
Greetings from Italy by Riccardo

[David]

Hello, Silvia,

Thank you! You are very kind! What is your reason for collecting minerals? I am simply fascinated by what nature can create in the mineral world and how incredibly diverse. Some minerals are simply works of art and I think they could compete with masterpieces made by painters or sculptures. The only difference is that they were created by hazard. If I was a religious person, I would probably have said they were made by a much higher intelligence.

Diversifying your sources not only helps with getting better prices, but also acquiring rarer minerals and getting to be more knowledgeable.

I really appreciate the fact that many respectable mineral dealers have a very wide price range, so that anyone can find something nice, that they can afford. At the end of the day, it makes sense, maybe a young student with very limited resources today, but plenty of passion, could become a millionaire and top collector in a decade.

I definitely went through many phases so far, therefore I would no longer buy things I used to buy 10-15 years ago. Still, there are plenty of older specimens which I still enjoy to this day.

Your focus on ore-bodies is very interesting for me. You've mentioned Panasqueira. I love Panasqueira, although not in my focus area. Especially, those ferberites, fluorites and fluorapatites.
Would love to see what you've collected from Panasqueira!

Whatever price range makes you comfortable and happy must be the right one for you!

Have a great day!

[David]

Hello, Riccardo,

I think we should definitely include gemstones in the potentially affordable minerals category. And those can make for great specimens, even if they are nowhere near jewellery-grade. I find it very interesting to see gemstones in their natural, uncut or unpolished form or in their host rock.

I also think that the borderline between what constitutes a precious stone and what does not is extremely thin. In the end precious is a matter of perception.

Regards,
David

[Tobi]

[silvia]

[James Catmur]

I will always prefer 10) as they are the best psychologically, if not physically

[Roger Warin]

Hello,
For me, the morphology of the crystal is important.
One may prefer the unusual facets of an opaque crystal to transparency.
For this, small crystals are superior to larger ones. It is a question of crystallization kinetics.
Important faces are those whose growth was slow. The fast-growing ones often disappear, eventually being engulfed by the larger, more thermodynamically stable ones.
The collection of minicrystals can therefore be interesting.
Despite its great qualities, the emerald is only a beryl, inferior to sapphire and ruby.
Even the spinel must be respected.
These 3 gems are oxides, therefore compact materials.
But this is only a chemist's opinion.
Also, these 3 species existed in the solar nebula before the planets appeared. They are part of the CAI's, these refractory dusts.