Mineral collecting is the

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

of systematically

collecting The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that are of interest to an individual ''collector''. Collections differ in a wide variety of respects, most obvi ...

, identifying and displaying

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

specimens. Mineral collecting can also be a part of the profession of mineralogy and allied geologic specialties. Individual collectors often specialize in certain areas, for example collecting samples of several varieties of the mineral calcite from locations spread throughout a region or the world, or of minerals found in pegmatites.

History

Generally considered the "father of mineralogy",

Georgius Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Pawer or Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire ...

(1494–1555) was also an avid mineral collector. He wrote several books, including two of enduring significance: De Re Metallica, an early treatise on mining, and

De Natura Fossilium ''De Natura Fossilium'' is a scientific text written by Georg Bauer also known as Georgius Agricola, first published in 1546. The book represents the first scientific attempt to categorize minerals, rocks and sediments since the publication of ...

, the first (1546) modern textbook of mineralogy. Another famous 16th century mineral collector was Holy Roman Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...

(1552–1612). He built a large mineral collection while employing Anselmus de Boodt (ca. 1550–1634), his court physician and another avid mineral collector, to expand and tend his collections. After Rudolf's death his collection was dispersed.

Motivations

Mineral collectors find a variety of reasons to collect minerals. Many minerals are strikingly beautiful and collected for their aesthetic value. Others collect to learn more about mineralogy, the local

mining industry Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

and/or local

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

. Some simply enjoy exploring the outdoors and socializing and trading with other mineral collectors. Serious collectors will go so far as traveling great distances to find the right specimen.

Specializations

As a collection grows, a collector may become more interested in a particular aspect of mineral collecting. Financial limitations or limitations of physical space can also be motivating factors in specializing a collection. Some specializations include: * Species collecting; trying to obtain as many recognized species as possible. * A particular locality such as a mine, country, or state/province. * A particular mineral species (ex. calcite,

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

fluorite Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs sca ...

) or mineral group (

zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These p ...

phosphate mineral Phosphate minerals contain the tetrahedrally coordinated phosphate (PO43−) anion along sometimes with arsenate (AsO43−) and vanadate (VO43−) substitutions, and chloride (Cl−), fluoride (F−), and hydroxide (OH−) anions that also fit ...

s) to show the variety within the species/group. * A particular geological formation, such as minerals found in pegmatites. * Fluorescent minerals. * Radioactive minerals. * Twinned crystals. * A particular size range such as (from small to large), micromounts, thumbnail (generally fitting in a 1 inch cube), miniatures, small-cabinet or cabinet sized. * Collecting only specimens that the collector has collected themselves in the field.

Notable public mineral collections

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

, Albert Chapman Mineral Collection], Sydney *

Carnegie Museum of Natural History The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896. Housing some 22 million ...

, Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

* Fersman Mineralogical Museum Moscow *

Geological Museum The Geological Museum (originally the Museum of Economic Geology then the Museum of Practical Geology), started in 1835 as one of the oldest single science museums in the world and now part of the Natural History Museum in London. It transfe ...

, London *

Houston Museum of Natural Science The Houston Museum of Natural Science (abbreviated as HMNS) is a natural history museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Soc ...

*Mercer County District Library] (900 specimens on display) *

Mim Museum The Mim Museum is a private museum in Beirut, Lebanon. The museum displays more than 2000 minerals, representing 450 different species from 70 countries, and is considered one of the most significant private collections of minerals in the world. I ...

(over 1800 specimens representing 450 species on display), Beirut, Lebanon * Mineralogisches Museum Hamburg (1500 specimens on display) * Musée de Minéralogie,

École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris Mines Paris - PSL, officially École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris (until May 2022 Mines ParisTech, also known as École des mines de Paris, ENSMP, Mines de Paris, les Mines, or Paris School of Mines), is a French grande école and a c ...

, Paris *

Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano (Milan Natural History Museum) is a museum in Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1838 when naturalist Giuseppe de Cristoforis donated his collections to the city. Its first director was Giorgio Jan. ...

, Milan *

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

, Smithsonian Gem and Mineral Collection, Washington, D.C. *

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. This large col ...

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

(Vienna, Austria), Mineralogy and Petrography Exhibition * Terra Mineralia, Mineral Exhibition of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany, (3500 specimen on display)

Notable mineral collectors

Malachite from Bisbee Arizona (6664471391)

* Andrew Ketcham Barnett (1852–1914), principal, Penzance School of Mines * Albert Chapman (1912–1996) after death collection moved to

. * Dr. James S. Douglas (1837–1918), mining engineer. His collection of classic Bisbee minerals was donated to the Smithsonian's

. * Walter Frederick Ferrier (1865–1950), Canadian geologist and

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

* Jack Halpern (collector) (born 1920), collection reviewed in Mineralogical Record * William W. Jefferis (1820–1906), banker whose vast mineral collection was acquired by the

in 1905 *

George Frederick Kunz George Frederick Kunz (September 29, 1856 – June 29, 1932) was an American mineralogist and mineral collector. Biography Kunz was born in Manhattan, New York City, USA, and began an interest in minerals at a very young age. By his teens, ...

(1856–1932),

gentleman scientist An independent scientist (historically also known as gentleman scientist) is a financially independent scientist who pursues scientific study without direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-run research and ...

, VP of Tiffany & Co., "special agent" for the

US Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

(1883–1909) * William F. Larson (born 1945), Founder of Pala International, board of San Diego Natural History Museum, owner Sinkankas Library * Gene Meieran (born 1937), 2nd Sr Intel Fellow (after the inventor of the microprocessor), 2003 Carnegie Mineralogical Award winner. Collection also at A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum. *

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

(1837–1913), famous international banker.

Morganite Morganite is an orange or pink gemstone and is also a variety of beryl. Morganite can be mined in countries like Brazil, Afghanistan, Mozambique, Namibia, the United States, and Madagascar. Morganite has grown in popularity since 2010. ''Brides ...

was named after him by G.F. Kunz. * E. Pohl-Ströher (1919-2016), German business executive and heiress, collected for more than 60 years. She permanently loaned her collection to TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany. * Perkins D. Sams (1927–2010), West Texas

oilman The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest ...

. After death collection moved to

. * Stephen Smale (born 1930), Professor in mathematics, UC Berkeley. World's best Chinese mineral collection published in book.the book of his collection at Lithographie
/ref> Appraised Houston Museum of Natural Science collection. *

Abraham Gottlob Werner Abraham Gottlob Werner (; 25 September 174930 June 1817) was a German geologist who set out an early theory about the stratification of the Earth's crust and propounded a history of the Earth that came to be known as Neptunism. While most tenet ...

(1749–1817), pioneering German

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

Henrietta Clive, Countess of Powis Henrietta Antonia Clive, Countess of Powis (née Herbert; 3 September 1758 – 3 June 1830), was a British writer, mineral collector, and botanist. Her time in India, while her husband was Governor of Madras, was inspirational to her for all thre ...

(1758–1830), one of the first female mineral collectors in the United Kingdom, whose well-organised collection is now part of

National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. The website of ''Mineralogical Record'' magazine includes
Biographical Archive
containing biographical sketches of approximately 1,800 (as of 2016) mineral collectors and specimen dealers, most of whom were or are active between the late 19th century and the present day.

References

External links

Beginning Guide to Mineral Collecting
at mindat.org
Criteria for selecting crystallized mineral specimens for a display collection by Jack Halpern
Reprint article, the Mineralogical Record, 2008

by the

Mineralogical Society of America The Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) is a scientific membership organization. MSA was founded in 1919 for the advancement of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology, and promotion of their uses in other sciences, industr ...

.
Collector's Corner
at MSA
The American Federation of Mineral Societies
with links to regional and local clubs in the USA. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mineral Collecting Mineralogy 01 Collecting