FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Scott LaBorde]

Since I am an avid rockhound, my meager rock collection is almost exclusively personally collected. I rarely purchase minerals, not because I do not think they are beautiful or because I do not want them, but because there is a certain pride knowing that everything I have was found by me. Just as some people love collecting a specific mineral, I love collecting only specimens that I personally found.

The thrill of finding a beautiful specimen on your own is something that most here have experienced and it cannot be put into words. That feeling is what I chase in the field. But, my point is not to debase anyone for buying minerals. I just wanted to explain some of my background, thus motivation for posting this thread, and segue into the topic of personally collected specimens.

I would like to see pictures of your favorite personally collected specimens. Maybe a small story on how you came to find it in the field. I don't care if it's ugly or not, it's the special story of how you found it that is important.

Scott

[Tracy]

Scott - to start things off, can we please see a pic of YOUR favorite collected specimen? Thanks. :-)

- Tracy

[Tobi]

Hi all,

i agree with Tracy but i'll make the first post. To me there's no doubt what my favourite personally collected specimen is. It's this 20 mm mostly gemmy olivine crystal i found some years ago in the basalt rocks near Marburg.

Glückauf!

[Tomasz Praszkier]

Best what I had opportunity 'personally' collect were incredible multiply twinned calcites in Sambava, Madagascar. We discovered this place during one of our Malagasy trips in 2001-2002. Nobody collected there minerals before. We spend few days in quarry and during 2 visits and collected hundreds of specimens. Majority of them were stilbites (really not bad also) with laumontites, but most beautiful were calcites. It was really exciting experience!!!
I will post a few photos below, all specimens were self-collected. Photos by Jeff Scovil. Article about this find will be published in 2010 in Mineralogical Record.

[Jordi Fabre]

Lovely!

By chance do you have also images of the deposit and the process of extraction?

[Harjo]

Great Calcites Tom, thanks for sharing!

I have many favourite self collected specimens but my 2004 Emerald find from the Leckbach deposit in Habach valley still ranks first I guess...
Finding Emeralds around the deposit is of course not a rare thing but I found a spot where no one searched before and was able to find some specimens in a quality very rare for the locality.

Cheers

Harjo

[Harjo]

Another one from the same 2004 find.

[Scott LaBorde]

Wow that beryl is awesome! And that floater calcite is wonderful. Those are some really great finds, thank you for posting.

This amethyst cluster was found in the tailings after a machine dig at the Diamond Hill Quartz Prospect in Antreville, SC. Apparently the backhoe plowed through the top portion of a giant amethyst pocket and was pushed down the side of a hill before someone realized what was happening. It is those tailings that were dug into the next day by myself and several other members of my club. There were several other very large amethyst crystals found that day along with the cluster I found in the photo. Although I did not get the pleasure of extracting it from the pocket, I don't ever remember being dissappointed at that fact at all. ;)

[GneissWare]

Scott.. What a great piece.
Harjo... Very nice emeralds!
Tomasz...Nice calcites...

[Tobi]

Hi Harjo,

i already know your great Austrian emeralds from Mineralienatlas but they're always a pleasure to see. Just great, especially the second one! Congratulations to that beautiful gemmy emerald specimens :-)

Glückauf!

[John Cesar]

What is your favorite 'personally' collected specimen has always been one of my favorite questions so I have to jump into the fray here. The picture I am including is of the specimen that is my wife's favorite. This piece was collected in 1967 at the Old Yuma Mine with Gene and Jackie Schlepp and my pregnant wife, Karen.

Happy Holidays!

John

[Carles Millan]

Hi John!

What are the species name and the size of your nice crystal? I think it must be wulfenite but I don't dare to guess how wide it is.

Have happy holidays too!

[John Cesar]

Hello Carles,

Yes, it is wulfenite with intergrown vanadinite crystals. The wulfenite is 3.81 cm long. Overall dimensions are 3.81 x 2.54 x 0.64 cms. It has no discernible point of attachment. Thanks for your interest.

How about yours?

John

[robynahawk]

OK - I am bummed - my favorite sunstone specimen - I just got back from the faceter - not a specimen anymore!

I collected this pink tourmaline at the Oceanview Mine this summer!

Robyn Hawk

[robynahawk]

Wanna see the Sunstones anyway?