Now what I mean is not your total collection because some people I know have vast collections that would dwarf my meager collection. But within my over all collection I have been working on a specific collection for about 5 years now, it all resides around a book I got when I was about 7yo for Christmas.


It is a collectors series Book called Rocks & Minerals by Paul E Desautels. I have been working on putting together both a thumbnail as well as a small cabinet collection from this book. Its kinda my way to show how much i appreciate this book. For a 7yo kid to get this book it filled me with a tremendous fascination for the various shapes and colors of minerals.


I includes what i would consider the holy grail of minerals for most collectors and actually isn't that hard to acquire with time and patients.


Here is the list of minerals and notes over what i have and what im still looking for. Most of what I dont have is because what I have seen is utter junk or way over priced for my cheep self. Or does not come close to what the photos look like, now im not so dense as to think i could find the exact minerals but i may as well try to find good likenesses crystal wise.



Fluorite, this has always been and easy one to find its just pulling the trigger and finding some nice xtls from Illinois.

Tourmaline, Bit harder here can get a bit pricey so none im my collection yet other then schorl

Sulfur, Ahh i actually have some from steamboat springs and italy( my brother got me this)

Wulfenite, One of my top favorite minerals and i actually have some very nice red cloud xtls

Barite, I would actually like a geode with Barite from Indiana but i have never found one in all my looking

Rhodochrosite, I actually have some from Colorado not the nice red but the pink kind and paid little for it

Gold, Im to cheep for this atm

Copper, need i say i have about 200lbs of copper most sitting under my mom bushes i hope she never finds it

Azurite, I have seen some very neat azurite i have never bought any

Malachite, i have a nice baseball chunk now if i can keep people from knocking bits off of it,

Quartz, to much to even go into quartz,

Feldspar, i have nice amazonite from teller county Colorado, and some red feldspar from Virginia i believe

Adamite, I have some or i had some but i believe my mom added it her collection

Legrandite, I just picked up a nice specimen of this nothing to showy but i was willing to pay 100$ and got it for cheaper

Dioptase, I have this always liked the green of this one

Calcite, Im from Indiana i have all the Calcite I will ever want

Mimetite, this one i dont think i have

Pyromorphite, Another fav of mine i have this from both France and Utah now if i could get it from Pennsylvania

Vanadinite, I have some very cool thumbnails of this

Prehnite, im drawing a blank on this one lol

Rutile, Nope im looking for some great looking xtls on this one

Marcasite, Ahh yes from Renselere Indiana

Pyrite, I have a very cool specimens from here in Indiana and other places

Proustite, This is one i need

Galena, I have this from Illnois

Cuprite, I need this

Erythrite, i have a pitfull example but i have one

Garnet, only color i dont have is green umm now that i think of it actually do have green

Radioactives, i have this but my lucky mom does not know its in here shed lol way in the back corner

Faceted gems, not wasting my time on this unless i cut them myself

Gem carvings, same as above

Rocks, lol i have tons of rocks hidden under bushes at moms place.


So as you can see i keep a bit of humor about completing this collection, some of what i have has migrated to another collection. Im not willing to liberate them because of the issues that would crop up if i did. It give me reasons to go to shows or trade or barter to get what i need.


As far as photos go once i get my new macro lens for my camera ill take photos of some of my collection within a collection.



Byron