Rock hounding at an Estate Sale is like shooting fish in a barrel. Not sure where this idiom came from, who wants a bunch of shot up fish, I guess they are easier to catch that way and maybe some are already disemboweled/cleaned. The rocks at the Estate Sale were easy to catch and already cleaned for the most part.
An avid rock collector from my Club had to move for health reasons and couldn't take her rock collection with her. The manager of the estate sale said she didn't want any rocks left over and wanted the specimens priced to sell. Better to sell the minerals cheaply than have them dumped in a landfill, so sold they were. After the end of the first day of the sale a gentleman purchased the rest of the collection for half off the already deeply discounted retail prices. I'm not sure what he will do with all the specimens, many of them duplicates, but maybe he will have a rock store of his own some day. As a collector I was glad I didn't wait to purchase any of the minerals on the second day of the sale, as none would have been left.
Going into the sale I wasn't sure what to expect, I knew the collector was primarily interested in micromounts (small specimens) but I hoped the collection would also be stocked in larger Colorado minerals like Stoneham barite, fluorite and possibly some smoky quartz and amazonite pieces for my collection. I was surprised not only by the quantity, but also the diversity of the collection. It was also good to see many of the minerals had tags with good provenance. I set a maximum of $100 to spend, but was soon near that limit. I found several crystals that I had on my wish list, but had not expected to find them at the estate sale. Among my purchases were cavansite, crocoite, apophyllite, fluorite, a surprise Faden quartz specimen and a Stoneham barite. I also purchased a microscope in working order, but with missing parts (easily rectified). As I was going through the mineral specimens I decided I wouldn't want my collection dispersed this way. Not only were the minerals going for low prices, but the collection had placed a burden on others for disposition. At least the minerals went to collectors. I think when I reach 3 score and 10 years it will be time to part with all but the best. DV.
See Pictures Below
An avid rock collector from my Club had to move for health reasons and couldn't take her rock collection with her. The manager of the estate sale said she didn't want any rocks left over and wanted the specimens priced to sell. Better to sell the minerals cheaply than have them dumped in a landfill, so sold they were. After the end of the first day of the sale a gentleman purchased the rest of the collection for half off the already deeply discounted retail prices. I'm not sure what he will do with all the specimens, many of them duplicates, but maybe he will have a rock store of his own some day. As a collector I was glad I didn't wait to purchase any of the minerals on the second day of the sale, as none would have been left.
Going into the sale I wasn't sure what to expect, I knew the collector was primarily interested in micromounts (small specimens) but I hoped the collection would also be stocked in larger Colorado minerals like Stoneham barite, fluorite and possibly some smoky quartz and amazonite pieces for my collection. I was surprised not only by the quantity, but also the diversity of the collection. It was also good to see many of the minerals had tags with good provenance. I set a maximum of $100 to spend, but was soon near that limit. I found several crystals that I had on my wish list, but had not expected to find them at the estate sale. Among my purchases were cavansite, crocoite, apophyllite, fluorite, a surprise Faden quartz specimen and a Stoneham barite. I also purchased a microscope in working order, but with missing parts (easily rectified). As I was going through the mineral specimens I decided I wouldn't want my collection dispersed this way. Not only were the minerals going for low prices, but the collection had placed a burden on others for disposition. At least the minerals went to collectors. I think when I reach 3 score and 10 years it will be time to part with all but the best. DV.
See Pictures Below
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| Apophyllite from India |
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| Huamalies Province, Peru |
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| Magaliesberg, South Africa |
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| Cavansite from Loc-Wagholi Pune Maharashtra State, India |
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| Creedite from Mexico |
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| Dundas Tasmania, Australia |
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| North Waziristan, Pakistan (Highly Prized by Me) |
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| Peruvian Pyrite |
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