Sooner or later, we have to deal with those piles of rocks...     Merit Badge Trail Managing a Collection Getting Serious Labels Sizes Trimming Cleaning Displaying Disposing

Chapter 7 We are reorganizing this chapter to present different aspects of managing your mineral collection. If you have questions or suggestions on a topic, we appreciate your input! 1. Getting serious with your collection 2. Importance of labels 3. Sizes of collectable minerals 4. Trimming specimens 5. Cleaning minerals 6. Displaying your minerals 7. Since you can't take it with you Getting Serious with your Collection WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THESE ROCKS! How many rocks do you have at your house? We have a lot of rocks at our house. Let me tell you about it. We have rocks in the living room and rocks in the entry hall. We have converted the screened-in-porch to a display room of rocks. We have a basement room full of rocks. We have large yard rocks out in the front yard. We have a pile of rocks in the side yard. We have a barn full of rocks. We have rocks around the barn. We have rocks behind the barn. We have rocks in the woods beyond the barn. The Howard house has as many rocks as any other collector, so if there is a contest to see who has the most rocks when they die, we are in good running for a trophy. The Real Collector If you are really a *collector* and not just an accumulator, eventually you will have to decide what to do with all the things you have acquired. Mike started his collection when he was about 12, and he was so enthusiastic about it that he soon had his room overflowing, His very nice father bought the house next door so that his young collector would have a place to put his treasures. Without doubt, this purchase was an extreme measure, but the question still remains,"What to do with all this stuff?" Now, after nearly forty years into collecting, Mike has one of the best private collections of minerals in the state of Arkansas. But it has taken him a lot of work to make it into a true collection. Oh, by the way, in the photo above, that's our barn, not the living room. Beer flats full of cleaned boxed specimens for trade are stored in on metal shelving that was screwed to studs on the walls. With this much weight, you need to make certain your shelving is sturdy! A Secret... Photographers and artists have a secret. Don't show your less-than-best pieces. And even then, you don't have to show them all at once. Sure, we have a zillion rocks and minerals at our house, but most of them are in drawers or packed in boxes and labeled on the outside of the box. Only the most special and showy pieces are in the glass display cabinets. When visitors come and they are interested in certain specialties, it's easy to open a few drawers and say "these are my favorite pieces". Mike says if it's in his display case, it's not to be traded or sold. After all, keeping the best is how to build a collection. Discipline I made the mistake of asking Mike which of his displays was his favorite, and he said, "Well, I like my quartz case, and my north Arkansas minerals case, and my Magnet Cove display....etc." You are probably the same way. If you didn't like the pieces, why would you be keeping them? There are a few technical terms advanced pebble puppies need to add to their vocabulary. One is Trashite, another Leaverite, and another High Grade. The first term, trashite, is a mineral specimen of no value. Trashite should always be left at the collecting site (in situ, as geologists say). That way it will never interfere with your collection. Leaverite, used as a noun or a verb, means "leave it right where you found it". It is also a specimen you don't need to waste your time on, but let someone else take it home to their waste pile. High grade is a verb, meaning pick over your collection with a critical eye and select the best pieces, while giving away, selling, swapping, etc. your lesser pieces. High grading is a good practice at the collecting site, too. It prevents you from having piles of Trashite and Leaverite around your yard. As your collection grows, aim for quality, instead of quantity. Your significant others will appreciate it and you will feel better about your collection.   next page is the importance of labels Ch 7 page 1 Contact Mikey@rockhoundingAR.com revised August 1998 ©Rockhounding Arkansas 1998 http://rockhoundingAR.com