Minerals.net

Rick Kennedy had seven display cases at the Springfield show public exhibit. Below is his introduction, as stated in one of his exhibits:

I've been a collector ever since I was able to pick up with my hands. I've collected everything from stamps and coins to bottle caps. Minerals and rare gemstones became my passion for several reasons: their natural beauty, the fact that I could never learn everything about the hobby and the adventures involved in collecting these beauties in the field.

I received my BS degree in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1994, seven years after finishing my course work (it is a long story!). I started Earth's Treasures in 1985 as a part time business while I worked managing a small business for one of my mineral collecting partners. In March 2006, I left that world for good and became a full time mineral and rare gemstone dealers and have never been so happy!

Personally, I collect "rough and cut" suites of rare gem minerals, but my passion will always be for Benitoite, and I proudly flaunt my status as a poster boy for the Benitoite Mine Run sales that John and Steven did a few years ago, my 5.96 carat flawless cut Benitoite is indeed the "Jewel" of my collection.

Pictured below are all of Rick's public showcases, as well as some individual minerals from within those cases.

Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:

Amethyst/Smoky Quartz scepters from Hallelujah Junction, NV

Amethyst/Smoky Quartz scepter from Halleluyah Junction, NV

Minerals from the Western States from Rick Kennedy; Large Blue Fluorite in Center.

Rick's Suite of San Benito County, CA Minerals

An Exceptional Benitoite with Deep Blue Color

Rick Kennedy's Tsumeb Minerals

Dioptase on Calcite from Tsumeb

Rare Gem Mineral Rough and Faceted

Purple Apatite from Maine with Rough and Faceted Examples

Miscellaneous Mineral Case from Rick Kennedy

Minerals from the California Blue Mine in San Bernardino Co.

Rick Kennedy had seven display cases at the Springfield show public exhibit. Below is his introduction, as stated in one of his exhibits:

I've been a collector ever since I was able to pick up with my hands. I've collected everything from stamps and coins to bottle caps. Minerals and rare gemstones became my passion for several reasons: their natural beauty, the fact that I could never learn everything about the hobby and the adventures involved in collecting these beauties in the field.

I received my BS degree in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1994, seven years after finishing my course work (it is a long story!). I started Earth's Treasures in 1985 as a part time business while I worked managing a small business for one of my mineral collecting partners. In March 2006, I left that world for good and became a full time mineral and rare gemstone dealers and have never been so happy!

Personally, I collect "rough and cut" suites of rare gem minerals, but my passion will always be for Benitoite, and I proudly flaunt my status as a poster boy for the Benitoite Mine Run sales that John and Steven did a few years ago, my 5.96 carat flawless cut Benitoite is indeed the "Jewel" of my collection.

Pictured below are all of Rick's public showcases, as well as some individual minerals from within those cases.

Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:

Amethyst/Smoky Quartz scepters from Hallelujah Junction, NV

Amethyst/Smoky Quartz scepter from Halleluyah Junction, NV

Minerals from the Western States from Rick Kennedy; Large Blue Fluorite in Center.

Rick's Suite of San Benito County, CA Minerals

An Exceptional Benitoite with Deep Blue Color

Rick Kennedy's Tsumeb Minerals

Dioptase on Calcite from Tsumeb

Rare Gem Mineral Rough and Faceted

Purple Apatite from Maine with Rough and Faceted Examples

Miscellaneous Mineral Case from Rick Kennedy

Minerals from the California Blue Mine in San Bernardino Co.

Dan Evanich had seven display cases filled with minerals of the American West, including Arizona and Butte, Montana. Below is his introduction, as stated in one of his exhibits:

When my family moved to Colorado from Springfield, Illinois in the mid 1950's, I was provided an early life exposure to the mineral rich Southwest US. Growing up as a boy in Colorado and Northern New Mexico, I spent many summers roaming the local canyons and arroyos searching for rocks, minerals, and crystals with my Dad and brothers. These experiences undoubtedly influenced my mineral collecting preferences today.

I spent 22 years working in Corporate Sales and Marketing for both Sony and Panasonic before retiring, all the while expanding my knowledge of minerals. About five years ago, I began planning for life in a post-corporate world with the idea of becoming more seriously involved in mineral collecting. 16 years ago, I was introduced to the Northern California mineral collecting organization, Bay Area Mineralogists (also known as "BAM") and a few years later, the San Francisco Crystal Gazers. Since then, I am an active member of both groups and participate in the planning and organizing of field collecting trips. Members of these two groups often join together on field trips and coordinate efforts in support of local gem and mineral show throughout California.

My collection is focused on specimens from the Western US and select regions of Northern Mexico. Favorite localities include Butte, Montana, Bisbee and Tiger, Arizona, and numerous others throughout Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Pictured below are all of Dan's public showcases, as well as some individual minerals from within those cases.

Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:

Dan Evanich's Bio with Two Large Wulfenite Specimens

A Close-Up of this Giant Wulfenite plate from Los Lamentos, Mexico

Minerals from Butte, Montana

Excellent Iridescent Covellite from Butte

Dan Evanich's Collection of Rhodochrosite from Butte

Minerals from the Historic Copper Mines of Butte

Sulfides and Sulfates from Butte

Interesting Bornite on Quartz from Butte

Electric-Blue Chalcanthite from Butte

Case of Minerals from the Mammoth-St. Anthony Mine in Arizona

Another Case of Minerals from the Mammoth-St. Anthony Mine in Arizona

Bright Orange Wulfenite plate from the Mammoth-St. Anthony Mine

Wulfenite and Associates from the Mines at Los Lamentos, Mexico

Unusual Wulfenite Geode from Los Lamentos

Dan Carlson had two display cases, one was material from the Kalahari Manganese field, and the other was on the mineral Staurolite. Below is his introduction, as stated in one of his exhibits:

My interest in minerals dates back to the mid-1960's when an uncle gave me my first mineral specimens. I was already collecting fossils and calcites from local northern Missouri limestone beds, so his bequest fanned my collection flames.

My field collecting accelerated while attending New Mexico Tech in the late 1970's, where I got to collect in all the local mineral districts. Inspired by Tech's Mineralogical Museum, I began focusing on a systematic collection trying to acquire good examples of the 200+ most common rock-forming and ore minerals. Systematic minerals are still the core of my collection, but I have branched into numerous sub-collections, often informed by aesthetics, sentiment (such as the first minerals I have every collected) or places around the globe I have visited.

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Minerals of the Kalahari Manganese Field in South Africa

Spectacular Hematite Crystal from the Kalahari Manganese Field

Dan's Display of Staurolite from Worldwide Locations

Don & Gloria Olson had four display cases of various collections. Below is their introduction, as stated in one of their exhibits:

Don's interest in minerals started at age 8 when he was invited to collect at the Himalaya Mine and the Little Three Mine in Southern California. At that time he lived on his grandparents' turkey ranch in Ramona, CA. When he and his parents moved to Osseo, Minnesota, three years later, he continued with his hobby by collecting Lake Superior agates and trading them for mineral specimens. Until 1984, Don worked in corrugated-box sales for Champion international in Minneapolis and Milwaukee, had a part-time mineral business (Minerals International) and raised four children. In 1985, Don and Gloria started their mineral and gemstone company, Donald K. Olson and Associates, which was based in Milwaukee, until they moved to their current home in sunny California.

Gloria also started field collecting at age 8, but in Lima, Ohio. She and her father frequently visited the quarries in the Midwest, which back then were open to collectors. Gloria graduated from Miami University with a major in chemistry. She then received MS and PhD degrees in mineralogy from Ohio State University. She was co-owner of the store, What on Earth, in Columbus, Ohio, for 16 years and, at the same time, was employed at Chemical Abstracts Service in the editorial and marketing departments.

You will see us at major gem and mineral shows across the country, including the East Coast Show!

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Don & Gloria Olson Copper Country Minerals

Don & Gloria Olson Miscellaneous Minerals With Unusual Colors

Don & Gloria Olson Additional Copper Country Minerals

Amazing Statue-Like Copper Specimen with Circle-Shaped Form in Center

Copper Sprinklings on Prehnite, also from Copper Country

Fluorite cubes with a Desirable Brown Color

John Magnasco had five display cases with minerals from various worldwide locations. Below is his introduction, as stated in one of his exhibits:

During the 1980's I dug deposits throughout California and the west with Gail Dunning, Fen Copper and Ted Hadley as friends and mentors. We spent a lot of time digging mercury minerals in the Clear Creek claim in San Benito County. It gave me an appreciation for what it takes to bring quality minerals to shows.

As past president of the Bay Area Mineralogists (BAM) I enjoyed leading the nation's most eclectic group of amateur mineralogists through animated meetings and field collecting activities.

My wife Eun Joe and I love to travel. My work and hobbies have taken us to many places around the globe including Japan, Korea, China, and more. These trips have also offered me the chance to add to my collection which has several focused themes: minerals from China, the Koreas, Japan, California, well crystallized examples of rare species, and scheelite. I try to collect minerals of visit mines wherever I go and have always walked away with great memories of the people I have met or collected with, whether or not I've come away with a sample for my collection.

Pictured below are all of John's public showcases, as well as some individual minerals from within those cases.

Click any picture below for a larger pop-up, and use the zoom key to enlarge:

John Magnasco's Exhibit Case of Minerals from Japan

John Magnasco's Exhibit Case of Minerals from California

Antimony, Cervantite & Stibiconite from the Tom Moore Mine in Erskine Creek, CA

John Magnasco's Exhibit Case of Minerals from China

Cyanotrichite from the Qinglong Mine, China

John Magnasco's Exhibit Case of Minerals from the Koreas

Large, honey-brown Scheelite from the Tae Hwa Mine, South Korea

Scheelites from Worldwide Localities