Minerals.net

The NY/NJ 2015 Gem & Mineral Show has been putting together an outstanding showcase of fluorescent minerals the last couple of years, thanks to the contribution of the Franklin and Sterling Hill Museums and several collectors. The fluorescent exhibits were quite impressive, filling a large room of brightly colored minerals glowing in ultraviolet light. The room had large "fishtank"-style showcases with a a strong UV lamp on top illuminating the contents of brightly fluorescent minerals. Most of the minerals were from Franklin and Sterling Hill, though there were some cases with a worldwide fluorescent assortment of both shortwave and longwave minerals.

Esperite Assemblages from the Franklin Mine, Franklin New Jersey
Collection of Warren Miller



Select Minerals from the Sterling Hill Mine, Ogdensburg, New Jersey
Collection of Warren Miller



Large Willemite Crystal in Calcite from the Sterling Hill Mine
Collection of Warren Miller



Fluorescent Minerals from the Collection of Steven M. Kuitems, DMD



Fluorescent Minerals from the Franklin Mineral Museum



Large Norbergite from Franklin, New Jersey, from the Franklin Mineral Museum



Rare Fluorescent Barite from Franklin, New Jersey, from the Franklin Mineral Museum



Worldwide Fluorescent Minerals under Shortwave UV Light
Collection of Richard Bostwick and Tema Hecht



Worldwide Fluorescent Minerals under Longwave UV Light
Collection of Richard Bostwick and Tema Hecht



Picture Rocks from Franklin and Sterling Hill
Collection of Richard Bostwick and Tema Hecht



Hot Pink Aragonite, Agrigento Sicily Italy
Collection of Richard Bostwick and Tema Hecht

I went around the The NY/NJ Gem & Mineral Show last Sunday looking around for interesting booths and asking some of the dealers to show me new or interesting minerals for our reports. I took photos of some of the items, and posted them for everyone below:

Huge White Opal gem from Ethiopia, 45 ct.
Ethiopian Opal, Amde Zewdalem



Incredible Colorless Opal with play of color. This piece is fist size!
Ethiopian Opal, Amde Zewdalem



Artfully Shaped Double Malachite Stalactites from the DR Congo
Land of Crystals, Shurland & Cherylanne



Peach Colored Stilbite with Apophyllite from Maharashtra, India
Though these Indian Zeolites are Very Common, this one Stood Out Incredibley
Land of Crystals, Shurland & Cherylanne



New Find of Purple Fluorite from the old Silver Mines of Tombstone, Arizona
Cassidy's Crystals, Nick & Cassidy Flanagan



Another Example of the Purple Fluorite from the old Silver Mines of Tombstone, Arizona
Cassidy's Crystals, Nick & Cassidy Flanagan



Amethyst on matrix mined this year by Bryan Major from the Ellis Mine, Due West, South Carolina
Ultra-Rocks, Bryan Major

http://www.ultrarocks.org



Another Amethyst on matrix pulled out this year by Bryan from the Ellis Mine
Ultra-Rocks, Bryan Major

http://www.ultrarocks.org



Excellent gem-quality Ruby,30x27x22 mm, from the Winza Mina in Tanzania
Quest Minerals, Don Thompson



Orange Spessartine in Mn-rich Muscovite matrix, from Nani, Loliondo, Tanzania
These Spessartines have Recenly Flooded the Matrix, but I have yet to see a Matrix piece prior to this
Quest Minerals, Don Thompson



Stacked Pyrite Crystals from Navajun, Spain
Piritas de Navajun, Daniel Ulibarri



Suite of Rare Uranium Minerals from an Old Collection Recently Acquired by Michael Shannon
Shannon & Sons Minerals, Michael Shannon
http://www.shannonsminerals.com



Rare Kasolite Crystals from the Above Suite from Kasolo, Congo
Shannon & Sons Minerals, Michael Shannon
http://www.shannonsminerals.com



Autunite Crystals from the Augeres Mine, Ambazac, Haute-vienne, France
Shannon & Sons Minerals, Michael Shannon
http://www.shannonsminerals.com



Polished Laguna Agate Slice with Excellent Banding from Mexico
Collected Between 2005-2014 and Polished by Alberto Rey
Del Rey Agates, Alberto Ray



A Very Large Laguna Agate Polished Nodule with Intricate Banding from Mexico
Collected Between 2005-2014 and Polished by Alberto Rey
Del Rey Agates, Alberto Ray



"Purple Passion Agate"- Agate with Natural Purple Color, Mined by Alberto Ray from his Mexican Deposit
Collected Between 2005-2014 and Polished by Alberto Rey
Del Rey Agates, Alberto Ray



New Find of Fibrous Sugilite from the N'Chwaning II Mine in the Kalahari Mn Deposit of S. Africa
Throwin' Stones, Rusty James
http://www.throwinstones.com



Focus on One of the new Fibrous Sugilites from the N'Chwaning II Mine.
Throwin' Stones, Rusty James
http://www.throwinstones.com



Amethyst/Smoky Quartz Scepter Depicted with its Original Photo
Original Collection of Charles Cecil
Crystal Junction, Aaron Robin



An Excellent Amethyst on Matrix from the Goboboseb Mts, Erongo Region, Namibia
Original Collection of Charles Cecil
Crystal Junction, Aaron Robin



Large Skelelal Amethyst from the Goboboseb Mts, Erongo Region, Namibia
Original Collection of Charles Cecil
Crystal Junction, Aaron Robin

The NY/NJ 2015 Gem & Mineral Show took place this past weekend, from April 10-12. We had a booth at the show promoting the Minerals.net website, and we were also selling some local mineral finds of New Jersey minerals. Special thanks to Juan Gonzalez for manning the booth this year!

This year's show featured an outstanding lecture series organized by Justin Zzyxx, with a nice turnout to all the lectures. Lecturers invited included well-known names such as Jolyon Ralph (Mindat), Evan Jones, John Cornish, David Eicher, Peter Lyckberg, and Justin Zzyxx. Although the fine minerals gallery with the larger dealers was absent this year, there were still good minerals booths and interesting things to see at the show, despite the large amount of bead and jewelry dealers.

The Franklin and Sterling Hill Museums together with some other collectors once again hosted a fabulous fluorescent display in a large room full of glowing rocks under ultraviolet light. Though there weren't many public exhibit showcases this year, I put together some interesting Prehnites from my collection, and Stan Parker had a dazzling display of brightly colored minerals from the New Jersey traprock occurrences.

Several collectors did show Hershel Friedman some new finds; these have been photographed and will be shown in a follow-up post. There seemed to be an abundance of Opal and Opal dealers at the show this year, though some of their items were spectacular, especially the Ethiopian material. For dinosaur enthusiasts, this show is a dream come true. There was a large section in the middle of the show full of large dinosaur replicas and full-size fossils, including a menacing-looking T-Rex. The previous years of this show also had great dinosaur exhibits, but this year was by far the most impressive yet.

Below are pictures of some of the show scenes. Stay tuned for additional posts that we'll be posting this week on this show!

Juan Gonzalez (L) with Jolyon Ralph (R) of Mindat in the Minerals.net booth.
Jolyon purchased that excellent Sicilian Sulfur he is holding from Juan.
The Sulfur was originally from the collection of Jack Troy.



Bryan Major of Ultra-Rocks came into our booth to show me his Minerals.net cap.
The worn out one on the right is the one he wears all the time while digging.
I gave him the new one on the left to wear when he's at shows or just not digging.



Metal Detector Station for Kids to Search for Covered Items.
This was a Nice Activity for those who Brought Kids.



Large Dinosaur Replicas



Floating Dinosaur Heads



Large T-Rex Fossil



Large T-Rex Fossil



More Dinosaur Fossils, Courtesy of Peleo Bond



Club Information Tables at the Show



Crowd of Show Spectators



The Crowds Kept Growing as the Afternoon Progressed



Group of People Inside the Minerals.net Booth

You can view our March 2015 newsletter online. Please click the image below for the larger version.

Aside from the Special Exhibits showcased upstairs, the University of Arizona Mineral Museum also has a permanent museum showcase in the basement with an impressive collection. I had not been down here for several years, and on my previous trip my impression was that the exhibits were outdated and not so impressive. I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the cases refurbished with some new modern cases and interesting minerals. If you are visiting Tucson, it's definitely a worthwhile visit to go downstairs in the museum to view the permanent mineral collection.

Huge Calcite With Oriented Pyrite from Chenzou Pref., Hunan Prov. China



Fluorite Rainbow Arch from the De'an Mine, Wushan, Jiangxi Prov, China



Twinned Calcite from the 884 Mine, Leiping, Hunan Prov., China



Minerals of Afghanistan & Pakistan from the Collection of Gene Meieran



Deep Pink Kunzite and Elbaite from Kunar Province, Afghanistan (from the above case)



Copper Minerals from the Ed David Collection.
This Exhibit was Put on Display at the Tucson Show, and is Empty in the Meantime.
Click Here to View the Post Where this Display can be Seen.



Platinum Nugget from Nizhnii Tagil, Sverdlovsk, Russia



Exhibit Case of Gold Specimens from California



Amazing Brochantite from the Millpillas Mine, Sonora, Mexico



Cassiterite Var. Wood Tin from Durango, Mexico



Fascinating Cerussite from the Flux Mine, Patagonia, Arizona



Polished Linarite from the Collins Vein, Mammoth Mine, Tiger, Arizona



Sphalerite and Galena from the Iron Cap Mine, Landsman Camp, Arizona



Minerals of the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico



Mottramite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico, found in 2011



Paradamite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico, found in 2011



Iridescent Goethite from the Lavendar Pit, Bisbee, Arizona



Calcite with Malachite Inclusions Bisbee, Arizona