The best reason is that they're really fascinating.
There can be other reasons on top of that, though.
In a place like Franklin there are cabinet specimens that command very high
prices. There are certain minerals where a 3 x 4 inch specimen costs
as much as a decent used car. That's not the majority of the specimens,
but there are definitely some. (Side note: It still bothers me
when people look at Franklin rocks strictly as an 'investment'. In my
opinion, speculation is absolutely the wrong reason to get into the hobby.
It reminds me of something else... Once upon a time there were people
who thought houses "never go down in value". I know of quite a few who
lost huge sums when the housing market collapsed following the 80's housing
boom.) As for minerals, I'm not into the top-priced pieces at this point in
my life anyway; for now, the necessities of life take precedence over
the roeblingite nodule.
The Franklin minerals exert a powerful influence on some people, who then
become hopelessly addicted to them. Maybe there really is something
to the mysterious "Od" energy studied by Reichenbach (he did experiment with
quite a few minerals, you know). Mostly, though, I think it's the money.
It's weird to see grown men acting like a bunch of little kids, bickering
and plotting and double-dealing to get "one up" on their fellow collectors.
Some of the comments I've heard from a couple of these people were discouraging
to say the least. It can be enough to make a newcomer give up the hobby
altogether. Don't do it, though. They would win.
I must add that not all collectors are as immature as the ones I've discussed
above; however, where there are "money rocks", there are usually shady
characters involved at some point in the story. That's really nothing
new; it applies to any collectible.
Micromounters are in the hobby strictly for the minerals and the science,
at least in my experience. Their people may overlap somewhat with the
cabinet specimen crowd, but generally the "micro guys" specialize in minerals
that need some kind of magnification to see properly. Most micro
specimens aren't worth more than about 10 dollars, so you don't see the kind
of scheming you may find in the world of cabinet specimens. As I detail
below, some exceptional micros bring more than $10 (some of them quite a
bit more), but you get the idea; I'm talking about the average specimen
that fits in a 1 x 1 inch box or smaller.
Micromineral pricing all depends on what the mineral is, of course.
If the only known example of a particular species exists as a micro, then
that's going to be one expensive micro. If the aforementioned shady
characters take interest in any micro, it will be that one. Nobody knows
why this happens.
On a related note, I don't mean to sound chauvenistic or suggest this is
somehow a man's hobby. It isn't. In the past, I'd estimate 90%
of collectors were men. That is changing, fortunately. There's
a growing number of women who collect. This is a very good thing,
provided they don't get as overtaken by greed and silliness as some of the
men have been. Thus far the female collectors have been largely immune
to the behavior I mentioned above, but who knows what those magical Franklin
rocks could do to them over time. Never underestimate the power of
pretty rocks. The Vikings often went out and destroyed whole towns
in their quest for sparkly gems and pretty stones. Sometimes they could
be appeased by offerings of said stones. Sometimes.
Enough of this, back to microminerals: Where to find microminerals
Most well-known collecting sites yield interesting micro minerals of some
type. Professional prospectors usually leave micro specimens behind because
they aren't worth much money. This leaves you with the chance to find
some attractive micros, even in heavily-collected areas.
Micro mineral specimens can be found in many common igneous and metamorphic
rock environments, sometimes even in sedimentary environments. I found some
decent hornblende (generic name for black amphibole), zircon, quartz, and
pyrite micro crystals down the road from my house, in an otherwise "boring"
area for collecting. Areas virtually barren of larger specimens can still
yield good microminerals; in fact, some localities are near-famous just for
microminerals. Consider Sugar Grove, Pendleton County, West Virginia, well-known
among micromineral hobbyists for its fine zeolites and "wire" pyrite crystals.
|
Magnification opens up a whole new
world.
Using a 30x binocular microscope, I made this drawing
of some crystals that appear to be harmotome, sitting in a basalt pocket.
They are yellowish-beige or straw-colored, translucent, and somewhat glassy. |
What you can find
This depends on where you look. There are far too many places, even in
a small state like New Jersey or Connecticut, to list on this site.
Most "classic" collecting sites for larger minerals will of course have great
micro potential. See the main page for north Jersey
mineral lists and areas I've included. The beginning micro collector can find
quartz, pyrite, calcite, and others just by looking carefully at rocks in
the back yard, the woods, or down the road. 
|
Quartz micro crystals found in northwestern
Hunterdon County, New Jersey on a cold winter day. These were in a seam
running through chalcedony. Specimen is now in someone else's collection. |
Prices and equipment
The average micro specimen costs between 1 and 10 dollars (USA) if you buy
it from a dealer or at a show. While I've been known to pay up to $15 or even
20 dollars for an exceptional or rare piece, the bulk of specimens I've bought
have been in the $3 to $7 range. Generally speaking, a very carefully-mounted
specimen with a neatly-written or printed label will have more value than
the same specimen mounted carelessly and having a sloppy, chicken-scratch
label. You can usually remount a badly-done specimen, but it can be
time-consuming.The above should not be taken to mean that a piece of common, amorphous junk rock will take on an air of desirability if it is carefully mounted. Micromounters want at least good, representative specimens from a locality. However, with any locality you should understand what is "representative".
A collector from Germany actually stopped talking to me when I sent him a micro rutile specimen from Franklin. He didn't realize that the rutile crystals of the Franklin dolomite are extremely tiny. They generally require a minimum of 30x to 40x magnification, and in fact I know a few collectors who enjoy rutiles that are visible only at 60x or better. Well, the German gentleman was comparing the Franklin specimens to the much larger rutiles from his own region, and so he thought I was sending him "junk".
If you're really on a budget and don't get out in the field much, there's
the giveaway table, a normal feature of micromount clubs and symposia. As
I might've said before, the "micro" hobby is about minerals, not about taking
out a second mortgage on your house. Micromineralogists (both amateur and
professional) tend to be very conscious of things like crystallography,
chemical classification, and paragenesis- things the average cabinet collector
overlooks in the quest for big, "show-stopper" pieces (not that I have anything
against big, "show-stopper" pieces.)
There are some very rare microminerals which are much more expensive than
average, on the order of 25 to 100 dollars a specimen. For that price, they
had better come from a reputable dealer who will guarantee their authenticity.
The most expensive ones ought to come with either an instrumental analysis
summary or a guarantee from the dealer that identical material has been
tested. If you can't get a certificate of analysis with it, there's
another tip when buying such specimens: if the ID doesn't sound right for
the locality or it's otherwise controversial, do some more research or just
pass on it.
A specimen offered as something that's never been verified from a particular
locality is especially suspect.
Don't feel compelled to go out and buy expensive specimens if you don't
want to. Most of us cave in and do it once in a while, but what makes a real
collector is the willingness to get one's hands dirty digging in piles of
rocks, to peer through a microscope for hours at the day's finds, and to
study & catalog these minute treasures... practices that might "freak-out"
common folks (i.e., those ignorant
of science).
If you collect your "micros" in the field, then specimen cost is irrelevant.
Aside from food and gasoline, your primary expense will be for supplies: about
35 to 60 cents for each plastic box, a few cents for the "post", dab of glue,
and box liner or coating of paint. Add on to this the cost of a good precision loupe of about 10x magnification:
between $15 and $75 (depending on brand name). You can get up to 20x magnification
in this price range, but 10x gives greater depth of field and sharper focus
for most collectors. You can purchase excellent 10x triplets, made in Belarus,
through CR Scientific
for $21.95 each (the factory recently raised the priced in a large increment,
all at once... market forces, I suppose). They are better than some $40-$50
loupes I've seen.
If you're serious about the hobby, you should consider purchasing a stereo
microscope. These range from about $200 for a good, usable 'scope to more
than $7000 for a high-end setup. The latter type is completely unnecessary
for most hobbyists. You absolutely don't need to spend several thousand
to get a scope that's more than adequate for microminerals.| A whole collection
of micromounts can fit in a shoebox or a cigar box. Make sure you label the boxes. The most important piece of information is locality (in other words, where each specimen came from). |
|
Some pretty fine scopes, priced surprisingly low, are available on my other
website, CR Scientific (another
shameless self-advertisement, I realize). However, I wouldn't recommend
them if they weren't excellent scopes. They're what I use myself in preference
to a very expensive Wild-Heerbrugg zoom scope that collects dust on the
workbench. I recommend the Paragon or the Achiever. Combined
with a $10 halogen desk lamp from your local variety store-- or better yet,
one of those flashlights with multiple white LED's-- it's tough to beat the
quality to price ratio of this setup.
I'd suggest getting a 10x / 30x scope and buying the additional 15x eyepieces
so you can take it up to 45x magnification. This will be suitable for 90%
of microminerals you'll collect. However, the 20x / 40x model is equally
popular; 15x eyepieces would take you up to 60x maximum power, which
is around the practical limit of these Greenough-type stereo scopes.
You can also find a comprehensive list of microscopy vendors at this link. Make sure to have
a look at this
one as well. The Basalts of Franklin - coming
soon!