Learning Center What is a mineral?The most common minerals on earth Information for Educators Mindat Articles The Elements The Rock H. Currier Digital Library Geologic Time

Minerals by Properties Minerals by Chemistry Advanced Locality Search Random Mineral Random Locality Search by minID Localities Near Me Search Articles Search Glossary More Search Options

The Mindat Manual Add a New Photo Rate Photos Locality Edit Report Coordinate Completion Report Add Glossary Item

Mining Companies Statistics Users Mineral Museums Clubs & Organizations Mineral Shows & Events The Mindat Directory Device Settings The Mineral Quiz

Photo Search Photo Galleries Search by Color New Photos Today New Photos Yesterday Members' Photo Galleries Past Photo of the Day Gallery Photography

Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

╳Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

Groups

Recent Images in Discussions

Field CollectingWhy collect rocks and minerals?

15th Jan 2018 19:24 UTCTheodore Hansen Theo

Can some one please tell me what you are suppose to do with a rock and mineral collection. Do you just store them away and never look at them? Are you suppose to study them? Do you ever pick them up and exsamine them? Any help is welcome!

15th Jan 2018 20:06 UTCTed Hadley

Why collect stamps? Why collect fine art? Why collect antiques?

It is because we like the beauty of the symmetry of the crystals and the natural beauty of the chemistry which forms them.

If all you do is " just store them away and never look at them" then you should not be collecting them.

(Of course my mother, now 89 years old, tells me every time she sees me that "Rocks are a dumb waste of time". After 50+ years, I still haven't got the message.).

15th Jan 2018 20:34 UTCDon Saathoff Expert

For their beauty!

For their educational value!

For the thrill of the hunt!

For the satisfaction of discovery!

For the excitement of being "on the outcrop"!

For the uniqueness of EACH specimen!

Enough??

I'm ready for lunch.....

Don S

15th Jan 2018 21:49 UTCMark Heintzelman 🌟 Expert

Also used as reference material, no different than books in a library.

You can't observe or retain everything there is to know, and I can't tell you the number of times I've gone back to examine specimens, to look for associations, UV response, and etc, It's especially useful when queries come up here from other members, either curious about what they are observing on their own newly acquired material from those localities, or to further discussions on the variation of expression in various species. There is a wealth of observable facts present that may have been overlooked at first perusal.

They are very handsome as well, and that may be a prime reason we all start a collection . . . but it's also nice to have a useably diverse collection of materials in house (takes a while). There wouldn't be much reference material to look at here, were it not for people who built collections, and were kind enough to share.

MRH

15th Jan 2018 22:00 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Why not? ;-)

15th Jan 2018 23:15 UTCRolf Luetcke Expert

Hi Theodore,

I think above have covered much of the reasons but one more for my wife and I was owning a mineral business since about 1972 and making a living with the above mentioned beauty and uniqueness of each and every specimen. For me it was better than sitting at someone else's desk and doing work for someone else.

Ted, good to see a message from you and Ted had me take a few photos of a micro mineral and make it big enough to blow your mind in size. That is another reason, to make the exceedingly tiny bit enough to see with the naked eye so that others can enjoy what they most often can't see.

Too many reasons to actually count as to the why!!!

16th Jan 2018 04:59 UTCTheodore Hansen Theo

thank you all I was just starting to re think about having my collection but now you have put hope and reason back into me! thank you so much! I shall keep collecting when I can and studying!

16th Jan 2018 06:04 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert

Don is missing one common reason which is (excuse my cynicism...) to brag: "Look at how much money/taste/connections I have" (even if I don't you might be impressed and*think* I have taste because I gave up lots of money to obtain it.

16th Jan 2018 06:08 UTCDon Windeler

Mining companies put a lot of effort into converting rocks into money. I try to maintain the global balance by converting my spare money into rocks. ;)

Seriously, there have been a few times when I compared what I was collecting and its overall quality with others in one of my clubs and thought, "Judas Priest, why do I even bother? Everything I own is crap in comparison to these guys' stuff." But at some point you just come to peace with the urge that drives you and just have fun with whatever is your passion. I still can't compare with most of the rocks some folks bring to "show and tell" at some meetings, but at the same time I know I have my own specializations I work with. (Sort of like grad school.)

Do it as long as you're having fun. If you stop having fun, step back and take a look.

But here's hoping you stay on the fun side -- I'm always in favor of more people being involved in this great hobby!

Cheers,

D.

16th Jan 2018 06:53 UTCKyle Bayliff

Ted Hadley Wrote:

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

> Why collect stamps? Why collect fine art? Why

> collect antiques?

I'm not bagging on stamp collectors, but I think mineral collecting has a real charm to it that none of these other collecting hobbies have. Personally, I am fascinated by the beautiful order and infinite variety nature produces in crystals. It's impossible to recreate that with man-made objects, especially when you consider the incredible time scale and the almost absurdly improbable sequence of events that led to the formation of the minerals that we collect. I am a chemist, and I synthesize and study crystalline materials with exotic magnetic properties, yet nothing I produce can hold a candle to the crystals that are taken from the Earth (though I do make some things that Mother Nature does not, so for now we'll call it even ;) ).

I find it very rewarding to examine, learn, and even experiment on the specimens I receive (though I try to spare the nicer specimens any destructive testing), and I have learned a lot thus far. I also enjoy making memories by going out and finding my own samples in the field, and each piece I keep is a reminder of my adventures. To be a collector of any sort, you need to have an appreciation for what you collect, but I find a much greater value in mineral collecting for these reasons. Your reason does not have to be the same, but I hope you can find the same enjoyment that I have found.

16th Jan 2018 07:04 UTCDale Foster Manager

Theodore Hansen Theo Wrote:

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

Can some one please tell me what you are suppose to do with a rock and mineral collection. Do you just store them away and never look at them? Are

you suppose to study them? Do you ever pick them up and exsamine them? Any help is welcome!

Ted Hadley, who was the first responder on this thread has neatly summed up the basics - why do humans collect anything.

Simply because something in our nature attracts us to be interested in certain things, for some it is stamps or coins or whatever, for those of us on here it is predominantly minerals.

There will be collectors who just enjoy the natural beauty of the minerals, others will have a deeper scientific interest.

It really doesn't matter which is your level of interest, as long as you enjoy what you do.

In terms of "Do you just store them away and never look at them" that would be hoarding rather than collecting.

16th Jan 2018 07:37 UTCRory Howell

I think a lot of us have a bit of the gambler in us, and enjoy the challenge of finding specimens, or at least enjoy the potential of finding something really nice. Every once in a while you do hit a "jackpot" (at least to you - it might be somebody else's junk!).

We also sometimes get a bit of an intellectual challenge trying to figure out just what in the world we have!Like many people, the specimens I find are often the ones I like more, even if they are not as nice as something you could buy at a store or show. You also get to be the first person that has ever seen it!

An example is below - I collected this last weekend from the Boulder Hill Mine in Nevada and thought it was really cool - It is not a world class fluorite, but I really like it and decided it was nicer this way instead of cleaning it! A different one that I cleaned is also pictured

{ Attachment 73693 Unavailable! }

{ Attachment 73694 Unavailable! }

{ Attachment 73695 Unavailable! }

16th Jan 2018 15:47 UTCEd Clopton 🌟 Expert

I have given informal talks on exactly this topic: Why Collect Minerals?

My reasons boil down to these, in no particular order:

Aesthetic

+ Mineral specimens can be interesting to look at and even can be quite beautiful. That is what attracted our attention to them in the first place! (More on beauty later.)

Practical

+ They don't multiply (of their own accord), and they don't die (except for some that deteriorate); they are relatively low-maintenance compared to, say, tropical fish.

+ They are bulkier than stamps or coins but are more compact than antique furniture or classic automobiles.

+ It is possible to assemble a personally satisfying collection on a modest budget.

+ There's a more or less ready market for them if I wish to dispose of my collection.

Intellectual

+ Understanding and appreciating the forces of nature than brought a crystal into the form in which we see it, and keep it that way, in the palm of our hand is an enjoyable challenge.

+ I also enjoy "antique" specimens that have been in the custody of other collectors for many years and those from localities with long human histories.

Philosophical

+ Mineral specimens give us an opportunity to witness and ponder the struggle between order and chaos. Here, for example, are strictly orderly cubic crystals of galena, exactly 90° angles between the faces and cleavage planes of every one, clearly a highly ordered arrangement. Yet they aren't exactly cubes--each one is distorted a little bit, in its own way--and these orderly little units are oriented in a random jumble over a rough, irregular matrix. There clearly are strong forces imposing order, and strong forces preventing perfection. Order vs. chaos, right there in your hand. Who's in charge here?

Spiritual

+ Back to beauty: The existence of beauty--a property of things separate from their fundamental function that gives pleasure to the beholder--is one of the most convincing pieces of evidence I can cite for the existence of God. Why should a snow-covered landscape be brilliant white instead of, say, mucky brown? Why should birds' courting communications strike us, members of a species not involved in the transaction, as musical? Why should certain components of the crust of the earth sparkle and glow with color? Who or what besides a transcendently wise, creative, loving entity could even conceive of such a wild concept, let alone endow us with the capacity to perceive it and even to impart it to our surroundings?

So why collect minerals? Assembling and studying a collection of minerals appeals to me in all of these ways.

17th Jan 2018 12:00 UTCcascaillou

Why collect minerals?

First of, they are mysteriously sparkling. Which arouse curiosity and make them fascinating and treasurable. That's the instinctive and irrational facet of collecting.

Secondly, they are tangible illustrations of sciences (chemistry, crystallography, optics, geology). Which make science feel more concrete, and stimulate the intellect. That's the rationalized facet of collecting.

Then, last but not least facet of collecting, from the combined fulfilment of instinctive and rational needs arises satisfaction.

Three facets is enough to speak of a crystallisation of human behavioural patterns :-)

17th Jan 2018 13:16 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

It is also one of the few hobbies where you can build a collection without having to buy the things you collect. You can self collected and trade (or sell) the surplus for other specimens.

17th Jan 2018 14:51 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager

So that one can use highly sophisticated and expensive machines to analyse minerals and their crystal structures ;-)

17th Jan 2018 16:29 UTCDana Morong

Why collect and study minerals? Ralph Waldo Emerson told why study Natural History, such as plants and animals. Just substitute minerals for these words, in his writing, and you may see what he might have written if he had collected minerals (excerpts from his Journals quoted):

1834, May 6

Well, my friend, are you not yet convinced that you should study plants and animals? To be sure the reasons are not very mighty: but words. To it again. Say then that I will study Natural History to provide me a resource when business, friends, and my country fail me, that I may never lose my temper, nor be without soothing, uplifting occupation. It will yet cheer me in solitude, or, I think, in madness, that the mellow voice of the robin is not a stranger to me, that the flowers are reflections to me of earlier, happier and yet thoughtful hours. Or again, say that I am ever haunted by the conviction that I have an interest in all that goes on around me, that I would overhear the powers – what they say. No knowledge can be spared, or any advantage we can give ourselves, and this is the knowledge of the laws by which I live; but finally say frankly, that all the reasons seem to me to fall far short of my faith upon the subject. Therefore, boldly press the cause as its own evidence; say that you love Nature, and would know her mysteries, and that you believe in your power by patient contemplation and docile experiment to learn them.

1834, May 16, Newton

I remember when I was a boy going upon the beach and being charmed with the colors and forms of the shells. I picked up many and put them in my pocket. When I got home I could find nothing that I gathered – nothing but some dry, ugly, mussel and snail shells. Thence I learned that composition was more important than the beauty of individual forms to effect. On the shore they lay wet and social by the sea and under the sky.

The sun illuminates the eye of the man, but the eye and the heart of the child. His heart is in the right place.

Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.

17th Jan 2018 16:33 UTCDonald B Peck Expert

Crystallized specimens are Mother Natures works of art. I go to mineral shows to gaze on the Masterpieces. At home I collect the lesser works.

Further, I get involved in the science of mineralogy. It stretches my mind (and fights dementia), it is endlessly interesting and it grabs my imagination. It is an extension of my being.

18th Jan 2018 10:17 UTCTimothy Greenland

Simple:

Because I enjoy it!

It stimulates my curiosity about the natural world and my specimens, which I often look at, all try to tell me stories about their origin and subsequent events - I try to listen and learn...

Cheers

Tim

19th Jan 2018 00:09 UTCGary Weinstein

All good reasons. They are the same reasons for collecting anything which interests the individual. However you do tend to miss the real, ancient reason we collect. As a species we are defined as "hunter/gatherers" and so we do...

19th Jan 2018 08:45 UTCErik Vercammen Expert

And mineral specimens can also be a souvenir from holidays and travels, a gift from a family member or a friend....

19th Jan 2018 09:58 UTCJohan Kjellman Expert

In a hunter/gatherer society, people get their food from activities such as hunting, gathering, fishing, etc., i.e. collecting eatables and materials for their subsistence. Hence it is essential to their survival. The collecting practices of "civilized humans" draw mostly on completely different mechanisms. But maybe, maybe, it is our old sleeping hunter/gatherer instincts that the mineral entrepeneurs try to tickle when they describe every other specimen as "important".

19th Jan 2018 14:34 UTCMatt Neuzil Expert

I collect simply because minerals interested me. Very early as a child of maybe 9 years old my mom showed me pieces she had.

She didn't know much about them. She grew up a half hour from bancroft near the old corundum mines. She would clean a cabin or two of some collectors. They gave her some pieces probably to get a young person interested in minerals. My grandmother never had mich money so she wouldn't have had time or anything for that. She did keep the pieces and we still have them.

At my young age I always liked to look at those pieces. At about 14 or 15 my aunt had a boyfriend that took me to the hybla area pegmatites. My uncle I call him now but he took me to many places. We collected Richardson mine before somebody made it a wildlife refuge, we went looking for old prospects and he knew of some old ones in Monteagle. These first years of collecting really got me wanting more.

Now I mostly purchase thumbnails from dealers. They tend to be most affordable. I don't care how much I spent on a piece. Rather the less they cost, the more variety I can buy and appreciate.

I have finally acquired a Sinkankas piece. I had always wanted 1. I have had some cross my path or offered to me. The one I purchased has some art and it is probably now my favorite.

I am probably as obsessed with Sinkankas as I am Viktor Schreckengost.

Anyways after all these story and tanget, you collect because you like it, because you want to and it's fun. If it's not fun why do it?

27th Jan 2018 00:25 UTCHolger Hartmaier 🌟

Hi Theodore,

Although the topic of your thread was "Why Collect Minerals", after reading your initial post I think you were looking more for suggestions as to what to do with an existing collection. I think it goes without saying that any collection should not just be packed away out of sight and never looked at again. So, if you haven't already done so, make sure you have completely labelled and cataloged all your specimens. There is plenty of guidance on collection curation on this website. Depending on the number of specimens you have and the room available, some type of display area would be nice to show off your best pieces so other collectors can appreciate your material.

As part of the cataloging process, it is a good idea to examine each specimen yourself and try to confirm the mineralogy present against the labels. Sometimes labels get mixed up, or there are important associated minerals on the specimen not noted on the label. You can maximize the value of your collection and its educational value by studying each sample and trying to identify every mineral present. Who knows, you may find minerals not previously recognized from those localities, or even an unknown mineral.

Having a good overview of the material in the collection based on the curation effort, try to assemble those minerals that relate to each other in some mineralogical or geological way. For example, if you have a lot of minerals from one locality, research the geology and mineralogy of that locality and consider obtaining representative samples of other rocks and minerals that are missing from the collection.

Note that many private collections may have specimens that are not of high-end or museum quality, but a complete collection of the mineralogy of a given locality is of both scientific and collector value compared to a random assemblage of rocks and minerals. Regardless of the collection theme, having a focus to the collection will guide you in future acquisitions.

Every collector reaches a point where the material in the collection needs to be reviewed and decisions need to made as to where the collection focus should be. Material that no longer fits into the theme of the collection can be sold, traded or donated to make room for newer material.

The previous posts have provided a wide range of opinions on why we collect minerals. Hopefully I've given you a few ideas on what to do with the collection itself.

Cheers,

Holger

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 24, 2024 02:56:38

Go to top of page