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Techniques for CollectorsMicromount Prices?

23rd Aug 2013 03:55 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert

What is the expected price range for typical (nothing too terribly exciting) micromounts? And what kinds of features (in general) cause a mount to rise well above this range?

23rd Aug 2013 04:50 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

I buy lots of micromounts. In the "nothing exciting" category, prices as little as $1 are commonly encountered, especially when old collections with lots of duplicates are broken up. Some dealers charge about $6 or so with the philosophy that that's the legal minimum wage value of the time spent to trim, clean, mount and label one piece. This indicates that MMs are a labor of love - Most sellers are earning less than minimum wage making them!

Micromount prices can (rarely) reach several hundred $$$ for an aesthetic specimen of a very rare species. Most I ever personally paid for a mounted MM was $300 for an exquisite tiny New Jersey greenockite on prehnite - cheap at the price; I've seen them offered for much more. Prices might rise to $1K or more for a famous piece, like a Franklin cahnite mounted by Niel Yedlin, but I don't buy on the basis of personal provenance myself, just geological provenance.

23rd Aug 2013 07:17 UTCChristian Auer 🌟 Expert

Hi Steve,

Are you talking about a micro-MOUNT or a microminer tagged into a plastic box?

I only can say that for the second option an average price would be Euro 1,- to 2,- for mass material.

For really rare micros the price is negotiable as Alfredo also mentioned. I also payed already a lot for micros from Austria where less than 10 species of this mineral are known.

23rd Aug 2013 08:35 UTCLefteris Rantos Expert

I'm not sure it really qualifies as a micromount: http://www.e-rocks.com/Products.aspx?action=showproduct&id=141431&type=44148

23rd Aug 2013 10:22 UTCSimone Citon Expert

Rather, what's the definition for mr. "luvrocks" and mr. "Parys"??? To me, the range is from 1 euro to 50 euro, with exceptional peaks up to around 100. So with an average value of € 25-30 a collector of micromounts can make a superb collection. Eventually, if someone is satisfied with a good, dignified micromounts collection, a mean value of euro 10 may be fine. The second response, following the example by Lefteris, it can be: the competition at auctions ...

PS Buy all the Germanites around and break them!

23rd Aug 2013 11:32 UTCLefteris Rantos Expert

Being mainly a species collector, rather than strictly a "micromount collector", I understand that a good quality micromount of a very rare or highly collectable/desirable species may fetch a high market price.

Personally, I would be willing to pay more for an excellent quality micromount of a very rare species, than a medium-quality miniature specimen.

Lefteris.

23rd Aug 2013 13:20 UTCVandall Thomas King Manager

As a mineral dealer, I believe I've held the world record price for the sale of a micromount five times. The test is a permanently mounted specimen in the standard size micromount box. The ones spoken of were in plastic boxes 2.2 x 2.2 cm cross-section. I the late 1970s, I sold an extraordinary micromount of antimony crystals from Schneeberg for $400. About 1985, I sold a micromount of jarosewichite from Franklin, NJ for $1000. The most recent time (2006), I had a nickeline crystal cluster with a fluorite crystal also Franklin, NJ that had three people willing to pay $3000. The record stood for three weeks and another dealer sold a yedlinite for $3300. Certainly tiny bits that would qualify as micromount, but were not mounted in boxes have achieved similar prices. I had some of the first and only find of gainesite from Newry, Maine and the calculated price for the specimen was $300 million per pound! Generally, good micromounts mounted in plastic boxes go for $30 or less. At micromount mineral shows, good micromounts commonly go for less than $10. I'll be appraising two micromount collections today and tomorrow and will report back.

23rd Aug 2013 14:52 UTCChristian Auer 🌟 Expert

Would be interested how much higher would be a price (for the same specimen) when its mounted and not tagged?

Or isn`t there any? The specimen size is normally smaller by mounts but it needs a lot of time and effort!

23rd Aug 2013 16:58 UTCOwen Lewis

Lefteris Rantos Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm not sure it really qualifies as a micromount:

> http://www.e-rocks.com/Products.aspx?action=showpr

> oduct&id=141431&type=44148

Every dealer's dream. Two egos locked in a bidding war. For over the last !K of hike, there were only the two of them at it. Whch is another way of saying that no one else thought it was worth close to the hammer price.

23rd Aug 2013 17:39 UTCDonald Peck

I have seen a lot of micromounts for $1.00. And a substantial number, relatively, at $2.00 to $5.00. So, I kind of think that a curve of price vs number on sale or sold would have a peak near $1.00 with a long low tail out to the higher values. In my calalog, I have a field for value and unless I paid more or have made mount of a very unusual specimen, I routinely assign a value of $1.00. I don't know that this means anything, but it is a satisfying estimate of the value of my collection.

23rd Aug 2013 18:52 UTCLiam Schofield

Owen Lewis Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Lefteris Rantos Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I'm not sure it really qualifies as a

> micromount:

> >

> http://www.e-rocks.com/Products.aspx?action=showpr

>

> > oduct&id=141431&type=44148

>

> Every dealer's dream. Two egos locked in a bidding

> war. For over the last !K of hike, there were only

> the two of them at it. Whch is another way of

> saying that no one else thought it was worth close

> to the hammer price.

Irrespective of the price, a mineral specimen is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Egos don't come into it, AFAIC The Dealer didn't place the sample up at that price, the buyers decided the price they were happy to pay. And, let's be honest; when was the last time you saw an analysed Bartelkeite for sale? It's not like there's similar samples you can look to for an idea of price. It's a risk on the buyers part if a sudden influx of samples were to come onto the market but the liklihood is very, very low and therefore, the chances are the value of similar samples (all x of them) can only be enhanced by such a sale.

FWIW I was watching the sample. I couldn't afford what it went for but that doesn't stop me wishing I could ;-)

23rd Aug 2013 22:33 UTCGary Moldovany

I sell most of my micromounts for $3. Thumbnails in "perky boxes" are $4-5 due to the larger size of the specimen. I have personally paid up to $20 for a special piece or a rare mineral.

8th Apr 2014 03:05 UTCJonathan Zvonko Levinger Expert

I sell mostly Canadian Micromounts. Highest price I paid for what went in to my collection is $300 and highest I sold for was $300 for several pieces. I do not have anything under $5 in my micros for sale and most of them are $10 and $20. Anything that I consider very common or of low quality I rather give a way than have on my table taking usually expensive show square footage. But there are collectors that are asking for some of the really rare species that I don't have even in my own collection and they are often saying that price would not be an issue at all. So Poudretteite or Jeffreyite and several others would probably yield several thousands and I would have hard time resisting the urge to buy one for my own collection.

8th Apr 2014 05:13 UTCDavid Garske

Being a rare mineral dealer who usually buys collections, I've accumulated a lot of micros over the years.I only sell by mail, so trying to sell the cheaper micros is about impossible. I do offer 25 micro's of my choice for $50.00, but have only had one offer. At this point I have flats of unsalable micros in storage. My minimum price range is $6.00-$7.50 and I do have a modest market in this price range, but I wouldn't try to survive on the sales.

Dave

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