Advice for people selling and sorting a mineral collection.
Last Updated: 19th Nov 2009By Bri Dragonne
I am writing this article as a sort of 'How to' to give some helpful advice for people who are new to sorting out a mineral collection, especially for sale.
When the parents of my friend passed away, they left him a large (1100+) mineral collection that he had no idea what to do with.
Not having an interest in becoming a new 'Rockhound', he asked me for help.
My previous experience (About 15 years on and off) was almost exclusively in Gem Minerals and Gemology.
I had a basic knowledge of Minerals and had collected in more than a few places.
But, I mean, who knew what Montmorillonite was anyways? :S!!
A Three Phase inclusion?
Check!
Birefringence?
Yep!
Leuchtenbergite?
Huh? *Gets on Mindat.org....*
So, the main question was 'Where do I start?'.
Well, my advice is: At the beginning!
My first step was getting the background behind the collection.
Second step was to take some random photos and see what reaction they would get online.
(This second step was not quite helpful, except to get suggestions about sorting out the collection from helpful people, so, I guess, it was helpful! :) )
And so on. (I will sort out a list later, that gives you a step by step process guid.)
This guide (As it were) is primarily focused on the selling aspect but also, it is useful (Sans the selling advice) for anyone sorting out a collection that they or someone close to them has to sort out.
1. Determine what is it that you really want to do with the collection. Would you like to sell it as a whole lot to a mineral dealer? Mineral dealers are likely to offer you anywhere from 1% (I kid you not) to 50%+ (The more assured or 'Fair' mineral dealers) of the lowest value for the minerals. The best way to maximise the value of the collection is to sell it yourself, as my experience has so far shown. Yes, this takes quite a bit of work (As I will explain later) but if you like minerals (As I do), then it also has its fun aspects as well. And be sure to post photos and descriptions on Mindat.org! It will help the knowledge base of the Mineralogical world immensely. I know that I have uploaded photos of minerals to localities that previously had no photos. Some mineral lover and/or student is going to thank you immensely for this later... It is possible for dealers to come by and buy the whole collection, if there are enough in your area. Get a good idea on the internet (By checking, for example ended items on Ebay that look close to your specimens with the same locality, checking ' (Mineral name) (Locality) price' on Google. For example 'Azurite tsumeb price'. My advice is do not let a dealer or buyer come by and 'Cherry' pick the specimens out of the collection. You may end up with the 'Good' specimens being plucked out at rock-bottom prices by some dealer and left with a collection where all the 'good stuff' has been picked out. Not all dealers are out to squeeze you, but some are. So be careful ;) If you are looking to just sell the whole collection to a dealer in one fell swoop, make that the requirement when selling, so that you do not get picked clean of the nice stuff. If you are interested in this, take a representative sample of photos and do a general census on the collection and post on some mineral sites, in a commercial area that you are interested in selling a whole collection. After getting a few bad offers from dealers, I ended up deciding to sell the pieces myself online, through auctions and also a new mineral dealer website that I am creating. If you have the time to invest in this and also enjoy it, then this article is made for you! : )
2. Get as much information about the collection as possible. Biographical information on the collectors, where they purchased their minerals, when they started, when they stopped collecting, mineral and/or locality specialisation and such are extremely helpful and this information also helps to show the provenance of the collection.
3. Make a plan of attack! Organise a day to look over the minerals and any information that accompanies the collection. Is the collection indexed on index cards, computer file, only mineral labels and so on. Old labels (From a previous collection that the collector has purchased the mineral from) and dealer labels can be extremely important and add some value to the collection itself. Plan out when you will come over (If the collection is not located at your home, as in my case) or when you will have distraction-free time at your house to photograph the specimens.
4. Plan out your photography. Photos are important. If someone just says 'I have a tourmaline specimen from Elba Island in Italy, how much is it worth?' or just sends a mineral list with no photos, you are not likely to sell the mineral or get a response from a prospective buyer. Without measurements and good photos, it is impossible to judge the value of a specimen.
5. Decide whether you will use the old system of cataloging the minerals (Meaning the system that came with the collection, if any) or if you will use your own numbers. I personally decided to use my own numbers, starting with 1, for each specimen. First specimen is specimen 1, second is specimen 2, etc. I also made sure to record (On a piece of paper and then later in a computer file) any numbers or catalog letters associated with the specimen from the old (Original) system of the previous collector. ***Important***: Number the photos you take to coincide with the mineral. Mineral photos of specimen number 15 should be called '15.jpg' if it's just one photo, or '15A.jpg', '15B.jpg' and so on, in the case of multiple photos. This is important, as it will cut down the confusion later.
6. I would recommend recording things in an Excel file. (Spreadsheet.) You can use Microsoft Excel but I personally use Open Office because it's cheap (As in free!) and Open Source. You have the option to save the file in .xls (Microsoft Excel format) or the Calc file format that is native to Open Office Calc. The way I have the information laid out is 'New Number' 'Old Section' (As in letters like Oa2) and 'Old Specimen Number' then 'Locality', 'Size' (Make sure to measure in 3 directions and to measure in Centimetres!), 'Notes' and 'Purchase price' (Original purchase price.)
7. Here is my process: A. Write the new mineral number on a blank sticker and stick it to the bottom of the specimen.(If it doesn't stick, you can use some Sticky Tack or Blue Tack on the bottom of the sticker to adhere it to the specimen. I have had this problem on crumbly specimens so much that I now tend to use every time I put a sticker number on). B. Make at least three photographs from different angles and some Macro or Super Macro photographs (If possible). Many cameras have Macro and some have Super Macro. Also, do not forget to make a photo of the New sticker number together with any stickers, labels or numbers associated with specimen. Make sure to use a tripod and the timer button. Setup good lighting and turn off the flash! ;). C. Take measurements in three directions in Centimetres. Write down all the information (New number, old number(s), name (if you have it) and locality.
8. Get to know your camera! ;). Know what the settings are for (ISO, Macro and such). I usually use the maximum Megapixel setting with Super Fine Quality on my digital camera. You will mostly be using the Macro function for general mineral photography and Super Macro (If you have it) for the very small crystals on the specimen. Photoshop and other image editors will come in handy, so get to know them as well.
9. Sort out lighting and background. This is something I am still learning. Try to use a matte, neutral or black coloured background. The lighting issue is covered in many places on the web. Just remember to adjust the settings on your camera to coincide with your light sources, or you will get off-coloured specimens. I kept getting extremely Yellow-Orange under Incandescent light sources. I then went into Manual mode on my digital camera and choose the setting in the White Balance for Incandescent light. I usually use two light sources, one is a small lamp above that is adjustable and one on the side, to provide side lighting. The photos don't have to be masterpieces, but they should look like the specimen.
10. Dust your specimens with a small, decent quality Acrylic or Watercolour brush prior to photographing your specimen. Do not use this on fine needle specimens, as you will break the crystals. So, YES on Quartz crystals, NO on tiny Mesolite crystals ;).
11. Make sure that all of your information cross-references itself. So, when you see photo '55C.jpg', you should be able to hit Ctrl+F in your Spreadsheet file and type in '55' and know that it is 'Green Fluorite with Quartz, Naica Mexico, 3cm-4cm-6cm' and so on.
12. Since you have been reading this far, I am guessing you have decided to sell the minerals yourself, instead of having a dealer come by and load up the old Minivan. ;). This is the time to check out how to sell the minerals online. There are a few specialist Mineral auction websites around. Those are especially good for rare and/or expensive and 'Classic' minerals. Ebay and other general sale websites seem to do good with minerals that the casual collector has heard of and that are popular. Things like Dioptase, Amethyst, Emerald and so on. I will use Ebay and the like to sell off the lesser-valued items in the collection, sometimes in lots. Set up your own website and/or online store! :). This is something I am in the process of doing myself. It's a bit easier for me because I have the technical skills (Graphic Design and some Website creation experience) to do it. But there are many sites and hosting companies that offer an easy to use interface for making your website, so don't be intimidated! Also, there are many, MANY completely free Website templates and Web store templates on the web that you can alter to create your own website.
13. Make connections. Ask questions on mineral focused internet forums (Like www.mindat.org), post photos about things you need help identifying and so on. It's a great way to meet nice people, learn things and get helpful advice. Not everyone will be helpful, but such is life. It will not help you if you put a posting to the effect of 'Hi, I want to sale minerals, what can I get for...'. Bad idea.
14. Contribute! Post your photos online, with good locality information and such on a website like Mindat.org . This adds to the knowledge and resources available on the web about minerals, and only takes a short while to do. I am uploading the mineral photos and information of the specimens that I am cataloging and getting ready to sale to the Mindat.org database so that I can give something to the mineral community. Mindat.org and the people on the forums have been a wonderful resource, both in terms of pure information (Finding localities, etc) and also to connect with other mineral appreciators. Sometimes, your one photo of a mineral from a location will be the only one available on the web, so this helps quite a bit for someone doing research. I put all of my photos up with a Creative Commons license and check the box for Mindat.org to 'Allow mindat.org commercial use: Tick if you wish to allow us to use your image to help us raise money.' I do not copyright my photos. This allows anyone to use them anywhere, with just the caveat that they will reference the source of the photos.
15. Get an idea about prices. Check finished auctions on Ebay and other auction websites, look up prices when you are having coffee and so on. This is something that I am currently working on.
So, there you have it! : )
I hope this article has been of some help to you.
Do you have more questions? Feel free to send me a message and I promise I will get back to you! : )
I would like to thank the following people for their advice and hospitality:
Maggie Wilson (For her warm hospitality and encouragement.)
Benjamin S. Kirchner (For his hospitality, general friendliness and advice about prices and such.)
Rock Currier (For his knowledge and his photo collection ;). I mean, look at his photos!)
Jolyon Ralph (For creating such a good site and keeping it going)
The Mindat Managers (And especially for Van King, who made me think about my photos and descriptions and to be concise and accurate with them. Thanks Van ;).
And the people at the Mindat.org forum.
Met vriendelijke groeten, (With friendly greetings)
-Bri. (The Witkam Collection )
When the parents of my friend passed away, they left him a large (1100+) mineral collection that he had no idea what to do with.
Not having an interest in becoming a new 'Rockhound', he asked me for help.
My previous experience (About 15 years on and off) was almost exclusively in Gem Minerals and Gemology.
I had a basic knowledge of Minerals and had collected in more than a few places.
But, I mean, who knew what Montmorillonite was anyways? :S!!
A Three Phase inclusion?
Check!
Birefringence?
Yep!
Leuchtenbergite?
Huh? *Gets on Mindat.org....*
So, the main question was 'Where do I start?'.
Well, my advice is: At the beginning!
My first step was getting the background behind the collection.
Second step was to take some random photos and see what reaction they would get online.
(This second step was not quite helpful, except to get suggestions about sorting out the collection from helpful people, so, I guess, it was helpful! :) )
And so on. (I will sort out a list later, that gives you a step by step process guid.)
This guide (As it were) is primarily focused on the selling aspect but also, it is useful (Sans the selling advice) for anyone sorting out a collection that they or someone close to them has to sort out.
1. Determine what is it that you really want to do with the collection. Would you like to sell it as a whole lot to a mineral dealer? Mineral dealers are likely to offer you anywhere from 1% (I kid you not) to 50%+ (The more assured or 'Fair' mineral dealers) of the lowest value for the minerals. The best way to maximise the value of the collection is to sell it yourself, as my experience has so far shown. Yes, this takes quite a bit of work (As I will explain later) but if you like minerals (As I do), then it also has its fun aspects as well. And be sure to post photos and descriptions on Mindat.org! It will help the knowledge base of the Mineralogical world immensely. I know that I have uploaded photos of minerals to localities that previously had no photos. Some mineral lover and/or student is going to thank you immensely for this later... It is possible for dealers to come by and buy the whole collection, if there are enough in your area. Get a good idea on the internet (By checking, for example ended items on Ebay that look close to your specimens with the same locality, checking ' (Mineral name) (Locality) price' on Google. For example 'Azurite tsumeb price'. My advice is do not let a dealer or buyer come by and 'Cherry' pick the specimens out of the collection. You may end up with the 'Good' specimens being plucked out at rock-bottom prices by some dealer and left with a collection where all the 'good stuff' has been picked out. Not all dealers are out to squeeze you, but some are. So be careful ;) If you are looking to just sell the whole collection to a dealer in one fell swoop, make that the requirement when selling, so that you do not get picked clean of the nice stuff. If you are interested in this, take a representative sample of photos and do a general census on the collection and post on some mineral sites, in a commercial area that you are interested in selling a whole collection. After getting a few bad offers from dealers, I ended up deciding to sell the pieces myself online, through auctions and also a new mineral dealer website that I am creating. If you have the time to invest in this and also enjoy it, then this article is made for you! : )
2. Get as much information about the collection as possible. Biographical information on the collectors, where they purchased their minerals, when they started, when they stopped collecting, mineral and/or locality specialisation and such are extremely helpful and this information also helps to show the provenance of the collection.
3. Make a plan of attack! Organise a day to look over the minerals and any information that accompanies the collection. Is the collection indexed on index cards, computer file, only mineral labels and so on. Old labels (From a previous collection that the collector has purchased the mineral from) and dealer labels can be extremely important and add some value to the collection itself. Plan out when you will come over (If the collection is not located at your home, as in my case) or when you will have distraction-free time at your house to photograph the specimens.
4. Plan out your photography. Photos are important. If someone just says 'I have a tourmaline specimen from Elba Island in Italy, how much is it worth?' or just sends a mineral list with no photos, you are not likely to sell the mineral or get a response from a prospective buyer. Without measurements and good photos, it is impossible to judge the value of a specimen.
5. Decide whether you will use the old system of cataloging the minerals (Meaning the system that came with the collection, if any) or if you will use your own numbers. I personally decided to use my own numbers, starting with 1, for each specimen. First specimen is specimen 1, second is specimen 2, etc. I also made sure to record (On a piece of paper and then later in a computer file) any numbers or catalog letters associated with the specimen from the old (Original) system of the previous collector. ***Important***: Number the photos you take to coincide with the mineral. Mineral photos of specimen number 15 should be called '15.jpg' if it's just one photo, or '15A.jpg', '15B.jpg' and so on, in the case of multiple photos. This is important, as it will cut down the confusion later.
6. I would recommend recording things in an Excel file. (Spreadsheet.) You can use Microsoft Excel but I personally use Open Office because it's cheap (As in free!) and Open Source. You have the option to save the file in .xls (Microsoft Excel format) or the Calc file format that is native to Open Office Calc. The way I have the information laid out is 'New Number' 'Old Section' (As in letters like Oa2) and 'Old Specimen Number' then 'Locality', 'Size' (Make sure to measure in 3 directions and to measure in Centimetres!), 'Notes' and 'Purchase price' (Original purchase price.)
7. Here is my process: A. Write the new mineral number on a blank sticker and stick it to the bottom of the specimen.(If it doesn't stick, you can use some Sticky Tack or Blue Tack on the bottom of the sticker to adhere it to the specimen. I have had this problem on crumbly specimens so much that I now tend to use every time I put a sticker number on). B. Make at least three photographs from different angles and some Macro or Super Macro photographs (If possible). Many cameras have Macro and some have Super Macro. Also, do not forget to make a photo of the New sticker number together with any stickers, labels or numbers associated with specimen. Make sure to use a tripod and the timer button. Setup good lighting and turn off the flash! ;). C. Take measurements in three directions in Centimetres. Write down all the information (New number, old number(s), name (if you have it) and locality.
8. Get to know your camera! ;). Know what the settings are for (ISO, Macro and such). I usually use the maximum Megapixel setting with Super Fine Quality on my digital camera. You will mostly be using the Macro function for general mineral photography and Super Macro (If you have it) for the very small crystals on the specimen. Photoshop and other image editors will come in handy, so get to know them as well.
9. Sort out lighting and background. This is something I am still learning. Try to use a matte, neutral or black coloured background. The lighting issue is covered in many places on the web. Just remember to adjust the settings on your camera to coincide with your light sources, or you will get off-coloured specimens. I kept getting extremely Yellow-Orange under Incandescent light sources. I then went into Manual mode on my digital camera and choose the setting in the White Balance for Incandescent light. I usually use two light sources, one is a small lamp above that is adjustable and one on the side, to provide side lighting. The photos don't have to be masterpieces, but they should look like the specimen.
10. Dust your specimens with a small, decent quality Acrylic or Watercolour brush prior to photographing your specimen. Do not use this on fine needle specimens, as you will break the crystals. So, YES on Quartz crystals, NO on tiny Mesolite crystals ;).
11. Make sure that all of your information cross-references itself. So, when you see photo '55C.jpg', you should be able to hit Ctrl+F in your Spreadsheet file and type in '55' and know that it is 'Green Fluorite with Quartz, Naica Mexico, 3cm-4cm-6cm' and so on.
12. Since you have been reading this far, I am guessing you have decided to sell the minerals yourself, instead of having a dealer come by and load up the old Minivan. ;). This is the time to check out how to sell the minerals online. There are a few specialist Mineral auction websites around. Those are especially good for rare and/or expensive and 'Classic' minerals. Ebay and other general sale websites seem to do good with minerals that the casual collector has heard of and that are popular. Things like Dioptase, Amethyst, Emerald and so on. I will use Ebay and the like to sell off the lesser-valued items in the collection, sometimes in lots. Set up your own website and/or online store! :). This is something I am in the process of doing myself. It's a bit easier for me because I have the technical skills (Graphic Design and some Website creation experience) to do it. But there are many sites and hosting companies that offer an easy to use interface for making your website, so don't be intimidated! Also, there are many, MANY completely free Website templates and Web store templates on the web that you can alter to create your own website.
13. Make connections. Ask questions on mineral focused internet forums (Like www.mindat.org), post photos about things you need help identifying and so on. It's a great way to meet nice people, learn things and get helpful advice. Not everyone will be helpful, but such is life. It will not help you if you put a posting to the effect of 'Hi, I want to sale minerals, what can I get for...'. Bad idea.
14. Contribute! Post your photos online, with good locality information and such on a website like Mindat.org . This adds to the knowledge and resources available on the web about minerals, and only takes a short while to do. I am uploading the mineral photos and information of the specimens that I am cataloging and getting ready to sale to the Mindat.org database so that I can give something to the mineral community. Mindat.org and the people on the forums have been a wonderful resource, both in terms of pure information (Finding localities, etc) and also to connect with other mineral appreciators. Sometimes, your one photo of a mineral from a location will be the only one available on the web, so this helps quite a bit for someone doing research. I put all of my photos up with a Creative Commons license and check the box for Mindat.org to 'Allow mindat.org commercial use: Tick if you wish to allow us to use your image to help us raise money.' I do not copyright my photos. This allows anyone to use them anywhere, with just the caveat that they will reference the source of the photos.
15. Get an idea about prices. Check finished auctions on Ebay and other auction websites, look up prices when you are having coffee and so on. This is something that I am currently working on.
So, there you have it! : )
I hope this article has been of some help to you.
Do you have more questions? Feel free to send me a message and I promise I will get back to you! : )
I would like to thank the following people for their advice and hospitality:
Maggie Wilson (For her warm hospitality and encouragement.)
Benjamin S. Kirchner (For his hospitality, general friendliness and advice about prices and such.)
Rock Currier (For his knowledge and his photo collection ;). I mean, look at his photos!)
Jolyon Ralph (For creating such a good site and keeping it going)
The Mindat Managers (And especially for Van King, who made me think about my photos and descriptions and to be concise and accurate with them. Thanks Van ;).
And the people at the Mindat.org forum.
Met vriendelijke groeten, (With friendly greetings)
-Bri. (The Witkam Collection )
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