Mineral collecting is the hobby of systematically collecting, identifying and displaying mineral 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.
Generally considered the "father of mineralogy", Georgius Agricola (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, the first (1546) modern textbook of mineralogy.
Another famous 16th century mineral collector was Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (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. [1]
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 and/or local geology. 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.[ citation needed ]
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:
The website of Mineralogical Record magazine includes a 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.
Beryl ( BERR-əl) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several meters in size, but terminated crystals are relatively rare. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, pink, and red (the rarest). It is an ore source of beryllium.
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO4(F,OH)2. It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can make it pale blue or golden brown to yellow orange. Topaz is often treated with heat or radiation to make it a deep blue, reddish-orange, pale green, pink, or purple.
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.
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains the most important source of tin today.
Abraham Gottlob Werner 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 tenets of Neptunism were eventually set aside, Werner is remembered for his demonstration of chronological succession in rocks; for the zeal with which he infused his pupils; and for the impulse he thereby gave to the study of geology. He has been called the "father of German geology".
Amateur geology or rock collecting is the non-professional study and hobby of collecting rocks and minerals or fossil specimens from the natural environment. In Australia, New Zealand and Cornwall, the activities of amateur geologists are called fossicking. The first amateur geologists were prospectors looking for valuable minerals and gemstones for commercial purposes. Eventually, however, more people have been drawn to amateur geology for recreational purposes, mainly for the beauty that rocks and minerals provide.
The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg is a public university of technology with 3,471 students in the city of Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. Its focuses are exploration, mining & extraction, processing, and recycling of natural resources & scrap, as well as developing new materials and researching renewable energies. It is highly specialized and proficient in these fields.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science 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 Society, an organization whose goals were to provide a free institution for the people of Houston focusing on education and science. The museum complex consists of a central facility with four floors of natural science halls and exhibits, the Burke Baker Planetarium, the Cockrell Butterfly Center, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre. In 2022, the museum received 1,520,000 visitors, making it seventh on the List of most-visited museums in the United States, and was the third most-visited U.S. science museum. Much of the museum's popularity is attributed to its large number of special or guest exhibits.
George Frederick Kunz was an American mineralogist and mineral collector.
The Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe is located in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on Leopold Takawira Avenue.
The Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems is a notable mineral and gem collection within the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Comprising over 1,300 specimens, Hillman Hall has gained a reputation as one of the finest mineral exhibitions in the United States
The Franklin Mineral Museum in Franklin, New Jersey is a mineral, geology, and mining museum at the former Franklin Mine. It is located in Sussex County, New Jersey.
The Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, was a museum focused on minerals and mining. Last operated by the Arizona Historical Society, a state government agency, its exhibits included more than 3,000 minerals, rocks, fossils, and artifacts related to the mining industry. The museum closed in May 2011. In April 2017, legislation was passed to reopen the museum under the ownership of the University of Arizona.
The Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County is a non-profit, volunteer-run museum in Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States, founded in 1997 at 400 North Main Street in the middle of the city's Historic District.
John Sinkankas was a Navy officer and aviator, gemologist, gem carver and gem faceter, author of many books and articles on minerals and gemstones, and a bookseller and bibliographer of rare books.
A scientific collection is a collection of items that are preserved, catalogued, and managed for the purpose of scientific study.
The James Mitchell Geology Museum is a geological museum based at the University of Galway in the West of Ireland. It is the only remnant of the university's defunct Natural History Museum. Regarded as "Galway's Hidden Museum", it is located in the university's Main Quad and cane be entered through a staircase in that structure's south-east corner.
Erika Pohl-Ströher was a German business executive, heiress, and collector of minerals and German folk art. She was resident in Switzerland for much of her life.
Serrabrancaite is a mineral with the chemical formula MnPO4•H2O and which is named for the locality where it was found, the Alto Serra Branca Pegmatite. The Alto Serra Branca mine has been in operation since the 1940s. It is located in Paraiba, Brazil near a village named Pedra Lavrada. Tantalite is the main mineral mined here. Specimens of serrabrancaite are kept in the Mineralogical Collections of both the Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany and the Martin-Luther Universität Halle, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften.
William Walter Jefferis was an American mineralogist and curator of the William S. Vaux Collection of minerals and artifacts at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences from 1883 to 1898. He personally collected and cataloged 35,000 mineral specimens, which he sold to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1905.
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