The difference between a mineral collection and a box of pretty rocks is written on small pieces of card.
Where the first money should go
Small, labelled specimens with a species and a locality. Thumbnail-sized pieces are inexpensive, they take almost no space, and the label is the thing you are actually learning from.
A cheap hand lens is worth more than the next specimen.
The expensive beginner mistake
Buying unlabelled. A specimen without species and locality is decorative, and it stays decorative, because the data cannot be reconstructed later. Collectors pay for the data.
The second is buying on colour — much of which is dyed, heated or coated, all of which is normal and all of which should be declared. Common mistakes.
How to learn without paying for it
- Label everything, immediately. Species, locality, where you bought it, when.
- Buy from sellers who state both and ask the ones who do not.
- Weigh and measure rather than trusting photographs; specimens look twice their size.
- Handle many of one species before buying an expensive one.
Pick a focus
A locality, a species, a crystal form, a mineral class. Focused collections are easier to learn from and far easier to price.
Two things to know before you buy
Coral, ivory and the shells of protected species are wildlife products, and much of what people call a fossil can fall under antiquities rules. Prohibited items.
Store it properly
Separate compartments, dry, out of light — some minerals fade permanently, and some dissolve in damp air. Storing minerals.
Questions people ask
Should I wash new specimens?
Not until you know what it is. Some are water-soluble.
Is a treated stone worth collecting?
Yes, declared. The problem is silence.
Does size matter?
Less than species, locality and form. Small and sharp beats big and dull.
More: buying minerals, what one is worth.