Mineral Specimens--Save Your Old Labels

Old Labels On Minerals...

Often you will see an old label on specimens for sale. When you do see these little tidbits you get a glance at the life and history of the specimen. I love old labels, but when I am reselling a specimen some people complain that the old label says it was only $0.50, and I have $100 on it. Just because a specimen has an old tag with one price doesn't mean that is what the dealer paid for it. I usually pay a lot more than what the old label says, and then put my label and price with it. These old tags are meant to tell the new owner a part of the history of that specimen. It is sort of like having an old journal or diary for that piece of geologic history. Many dealers get these old specimens and throw the tags away so that customers don't think they paid pennies on the dollar for what they are asking for the specimen. Although this is understandable, considering the confusion it can cause, when that happens a little piece of history is lost.

Many minerals appreciate with time just like any other investment. I have specimens I paid a few dollars for and are now worth thousands.
Old labels themselves add to the value of a specimen in many ways. If a particular specimen was owned by a famous collector or museum, it can double the value. For example, a specimen of Vauxite from the Vaux collection (from the late 1800's) can be worth several times the amount a specimen of vauxite without that information would command. Sometimes a particular dealer's label (not mine) can add to the value of a specimen. For example, a specimen with a label from the Foote Company of Phil'dia will be worth several times the same specimen without that info.

Specimens with a history like this are said to have a pedigree.

Old labels without that kind of info or history can simply add to the pleasure of owning the specimen. This is the most common kind of label (sometimes it is only a scrap of paper with a hand written note) yet I love them the same.

Some collectors pay top dollar so they can have the special label or only collect specimens that they can get labels signed by the person the specimen is named for. What a specialty collection!

So when you are collecting always try to get at least a label from the dealer you are buying it from. Don't just throw them away--someday they may be worth something. Heck, even one of mine might someday be valuable.

We're Moving!

Since our building is being donated to the Humane Society, we've been planning a move since November.

For those of you wondering when and where, our move has been postponed until the end of January. We are attempting to keep disruptions to retail shopping minimal. The move should not affect mail order at all.

We're in negotiations for one building and looking at another, so we're not 100% sure where we're going, yet. We do know we will stay in the Salt Lake area.

Please check back for details. As soon as we know them, we'll post them.

801-355-7952
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Apatite Mineral Specimens

Apatite is a mineral I hear a lot of questions about. It's no wonder. The word means "deceive" in Greek and was named so because it was so often confused with many other minerals.

In actuality there is not a mineral named apatite. Apatite is a family of minerals. The apatite family includes fluoroapatite, hydroxylapatite, and carbonate-apatite. This poses the question: Why are most specimens labeled apatite and not one of the other names? The reason: because apatite is easy to identify as apatite but it requires a chemical test to determine which one it really is. These tests cost about $100, and you would have to test each specimen. Apatite from the same location can be all of the different ones or one of them. So for the sake of simplicity dealers just label them apatite. However, the most common member is the fluoroapatite.

In the fossil record, much of the bone that is persevered is in the form a massive apatite called callophane. (This is not the case with the agatized bone found in Utah and the other 4 Corner States).

There are massive apatite deposits all over the world. Most of which is mined as phosphate. In Utah apatite crystals have been found at the Utahlite Hill, Box Elder County as small (1mm), white crystals in vugs of variscite.

I have also found nice crystals of apatite in the iron mines in Iron County. Here the crystals form up to 1.5" as a gemmy pale yellow-green. They are easily as good as the famous Mexican ones.

Most of the crystals you find on the iron mines in Iron County are 1-2mm long and 0.5mm thick and form on the magnetite. It makes for a very attractive combination.

We have some small crystals of the nice pale yellow-green apatites from Iron County. They are $5 each. We don't have many and they are a locality specimen for anyone who wants a piece of Utah that won't be available after we sell out.