The evils that beset mineral collections: 16. Poverty, death and the disposition of goods and records

Let's talk about death first.

You may leave behind you:

• Grieving parents,
• Grieving children,
• Grieving creditors,
• Warring relatives,
• Two or more people who think they inherit the same item, or
• A spouse who has no idea what you had, or what it is worth.

But what do you want to leave behind you?
     Do you want your collection to be an intact entity? A source of revenue for your heirs? Do you want the items in it to retain their provenance information, and a record of their presence in your collection? All these lead to estate planning considerations.
     If you want someone or some institution to inherit and keep your collection intact, it is best to negotiate this while you are still alive. In the case of  institutions, it is extremely helpful to provide an endowment to support the collection (this is true even if you are gifting a few items, with no requirement to keep them together, and no strings attached). In the case of individuals, give some thought to what might happen as their circumstances change; it will not be possible to guarantee your desired result in perpetuity.
     If your want your heirs to get the most value out of your collection, consider evaluating some mineral dealers or an auction house while you are alive. (As you get older, you might want at least one of the dealers to be substantially younger than you.) Check with your tax lawyer; it might be more appropriate to sell the collection yourself and provide monetary gifts than to leave disposition for your heirs to handle.
     If you want a specific heir to get a specific item, make sure your intentions are clear and in writing. You might also make sure that this heir wants this item, especially if it has specific upkeep requirements (see the rest of this series).
     If you are willing to split up the collection, it again may make better sense for you to dispose of it than for you to leave it for heirs to deal with.

In all cases, however, you will need to provide three important types of information in your estate plans.
1) Where are all the mineral specimens? Are any in a safe deposit box? Are any on loan, or on exhibit elsewhere? Be as specific as possible and update this information whenever there is a change.
     1a) And while we are at it, do you have any specimens in your possession that don't belong to you? (E.g., borrowed, on memo or on consignment and not yet paid for, etc.) Those should be specified, as well as any with shared ownership, etc.
2) Where are the collection records stored? Is there an obvious link between each specimen and its related information? If you have information stored as computer files, are they password protected? If so, the current password needs to be provided.
3) Who knows this information -- where the specimens and records are, and how to access them?

Poverty is a difficult issue. You may have to sell your collection, or less likely, get a loan using it as collateral. Make sure you know what comparable specimens are selling for, but do not expect to get any amount close to the fair market value for your items, unless you are prepared to spend a lot of time (and some money) marketing them. (25% of FMV -- for your most sellable specimens -- may be closer to the truth.)
     Remember, if you are hurting for money, other people are probably in the same situation. So liquidity -- the ease with which you can convert your specimens into money -- is likely to be a problem as well.

The evils that beset mineral collections: 15. Inclination, boredom, lack of discipline, and new worlds to conquer

You may notice that this column does not appear every week. Its sometimes sporadic occurrence reflects today's set of evils: inclination, boredom, lack of discipline, and new worlds to conquer.  Let's add perfectionism to the list as well.

If you have a small and well-organized collection, these evils are not so much of a problem. But suppose, like me, you last cataloged a specimen (as opposed to adding it to a running list) in the 1990s. In the mean time, I have changed cities, changed jobs, taken several vacations, and yes, continued to collect minerals, rocks, and a few gemstones [including synthetics and imitations]. I have acquired some nice equipment for the visual examination of minerals: a gemological microscope, a viewing box, etc. But I have not set up an environment to label specimens; worse, I have not unpacked my existing collection after the move a dozen years ago.

Why?
Well, the new space isn't ready yet: it leaks sunshine (see Evil #7). When I had the money to prepare it, I didn't have time; and now that I have more time, money is tighter. The first steps to preparing the space are big ones. So blame inclination, the lack of funds, and a lack of discipline (and the Internet, that large vacuum-er of time).

Certain aspects of collecting are more pleasant than others. It's great fun to go to Tucson; it's fun to build displays; it's not as much fun to make handwritten labels in triplicate, or to find a LaTeX compiler, or ... This is an aspect in which perfectionism can slow you into immobility.

And if you formed your collection when you were much younger -- or, worse, inherited it -- by the time a piece is cataloged you may not remember why you got it. So if you must procrastinate, keep notes (with the specimen, and away from sunshine, insects, rubber bands, etc.).

What if your interests have changed? If now to minerals you prefer to collect mineral books, or make fishing flies, or raise a family? It may be appropriate to set your annotated collection aside until you find (or raise) an enthusiastic apprentice who can grow into it. Or find a deserving museum; or a mineral dealer or  auction house if the money would come in handy.

Or persevere: sometimes the solution is to break the big steps into little steps. If you can't even handle a little step, make it easier to do it next time, by clearing off a space, or collecting supplies, or tackling whichever obstacle is blocking your progress.

Museums have the notion of stewardship: that one has a responsibility to that which has been judiciously acquired. Be the best steward that you reasonably can be.

4a. The evils that beset mineral collections: Variations in humidity

Often--but not always--correlated with changes in temperature are variations in humidity. These threaten mineral specimens by changing their solubility in air. I remember a salt crystal in the Harvard student mineral collection, then at the Science Center, that had developed a lovely set of salt rings surrounding it on the glass shelf in its display case. All the salt from the rings had originally come from the large crystal, and its faces were slightly frosted.

Changes in humidity also threaten mineral labels and boxes for soluble minerals, just as dipping the labels or boxes in salt water would attack them.

Possibly bacterial damage of specimens such as iron sulfides can be enhanced by humidity and its changes.

Most museums try to keep their humidity constant, often at about 55% relative humidity. Sometimes you see humidity chart recorders in cases or rooms.

3a. The Evils that beset mineral collections: Temperature changes

In the last installment, I discussed temperature effects, but not temperature change effects.

The largest effect happens in situations where a collection is kept in places that can get below the freezing temperature of water. There is an effect called freeze-thaw disaggregation, which is seen in nature at rock outcrops: water seeps into the rocks and expands as it freezes, prying the rock apart. Minerals with fluid inclusions, or ones that are inadvertently wetted down (does your basement flood?) might suffer from such effects.

The other extreme is rare as an environment, but can occur to specimens with fluid inclusions when viewed through a microscope with hot lights, or while being photographed with hot lights. Some fluid inclusions contain gas bubbles (e.g., carbon dioxide bubbles), and these expand as a specimen is heated. In one anecdotal case, a gemstone exploded when held in someone's mouth.

Temperature cycling can also cause a mineral specimen to disaggregate. Each mineral has its own thermal expansion coefficient, which measures how much it expands as it gets hotter and contracts as it gets cooler. Anisotropic minerals (corundum is a good example) have different thermal expansion coefficients in different directions, and can even contract in some directions while being heated.
A matrix mineral specimen is an aggregation of different grains, often with varying orientation. The grains will typically push against each other as temperature climbs, and pull apart as temperature falls. This might lead to delicate specimens falling apart.

3. The Evils that beset mineral collections: Temperature and Temperature changes

Is global warming a threat to your mineral collection? Maybe.

First, let's talk mineral stability. Many mineral species are described that are not stable at room temperature, pressure, and humidity. However, most are stable in the environments in which they form (some are formed metastably, which won't be discussed more in this blog entry).

To form, minerals need a supply of nutrients (elements), and the appropriate pressure and temperature ranges. The conditions needed for mineral stability also include the relative amount of water available, relative acidity, and oxidation state. Minerals that contain other elements that may be in the gas or fluid phase, such as sulfur, selenium, and fluorine, may have additional requirements for stability.

Now look at minerals that are outside their stability range. Will these immediately decompose? Not necessarily. If the amount of energy needed to start the change or decomposition is high, the mineral may stay in the same state despite adverse conditions. This is called a metastable condition, and the best example is diamond.

However, many minerals do break down, and the conditions on earth that form minerals may not be represented in your collection. The most obvious low-temperature example is ice; another is antarcticite. Neither of these are stable at 20-25 C.

The opposite case is for high-temperature minerals whose crystal structures spontaneously distort at lower temperatures. Probably all so-called specimens of "beta quartz" are now alpha quartz, unless there is a mineral collection that keeps specimens above 550 C.

2. The evils that beset mineral collections: Space

Space, or lack of it, is often a problem for compulsive collectors like me. As zen comedian Steven Wright said, "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"

Here are some typical space concerns:

Display space: How many of your minerals can be displayed at once? Would you like to display more, and if so, do you rotate the collection so that other specimens are sometimes on display?

What happens when you get new display pieces? Often, the existing display is rearranged to make space for the new specimens. Eventually, display clutter becomes a problem.

Can you see all the specimens on display from one position, or do you have to contort yourself to see what's on a lower shelf, or the items in the corners? If the latter, your display spaces may be too crowded.

Do no specimens touch? Is it clear which label belongs to each specimen? Is every label readable without moving any specimens? If so, you may have enough display space for the specimens you are showing.

Storage space:
Is it archival? Is it secure against rodents, insects, and other pests? Is it secure against theft, weather, and other hazards? These are all reasons that a garage may not be the best place to store some or all of your specimens. Weight and heat may preclude attic storage; water problems may preclude basement storage. You'll have to judge whether any of these will work for you.

For important specimens (or jewelry), you may wish to invest in a box in a bank vault. There are rumors of opals crazing in bank vaults due to lack of humidity, so think twice about storing opals there. You might also wish to save a copy of your mineral records in a remote site such as a bank vault.

Is it accessible? If you need to get access to a particular specimen in storage, it helps to know exactly where it is, and what you need to move to get access to it. It's easy to bury boxes under other boxes, so it's important that every box be labeled on all sides. "This end up" is another important message where needed.

Gemstone storage: For those of you with loose fashioned gemstones, how do you store them? Some people use individual pill-case type containers, some use small plastic bags, and some use stone papers. (Larger specimens or suites are often stored in their own lined cases or Riker Mounts.) Regardless of the storage method, gemstones should not touch each other; even diamonds get "paper wear" from other diamonds in the same stone paper.

1. The Evils that beset mineral collections: Time

How many ways can time damage a mineral collection?
The primary problem is in the retention of information, but minerals themselves can also be damaged.

How can information be lost?

• If you haven't written something down, it can be forgotten. That includes the location of samples and information. Take the time to label your specimens, even if with temporary labels, as you acquire them.
• Sometimes notes (especially receipts) are not prepared using archival materials. Paper crumbles, ink fades, tape becomes unsticky. Try to avoid using non-archival materials; make copies of unstable notes.
• Computer programs become obsolete over time; computer media may not be stable (e.g., many CDs are only rated for 10 years), or their related hardware may become obsolete. (For instance, my Ph.D. thesis is on large-format magnetic tape, and prior to that I used punch cards to index collection information: these are now dead media.) If your information is archived on hard media, update the media regularly, and check that the information has not become corrupted in the meantime; if it is in "the cloud," still make your own backups.
  
• When the time comes to pass your collection along to another place, will you be there to handle the transfer? Or will your heirs know where the specimens are, which have special care issues, which label belongs to each specimen, and who gets what? Collections deserve special attention in the estate planning process. (And does the recipient know the collection is coming? Give your heirs a chance to prepare for the collection's arrival.)
  

What can happen to minerals?

• Over time, minerals can react with their environment. Sharp water soluble crystals can become rounded due to humidity changes over time; some pyrite and marcasite crumble due to bacterial contamination; acid paper reacts with sulfide minerals.
  
• Metastable minerals can revert or decompose: for instance, hydrous (or "hydratable") minerals gain or lose water.
  

Some of these changes can be mitigated with a stable environment and isolation of some specimens; but some is inevitable.

The evils that beset mineral collections: Intro

This next series is on the evils to which mineral collections are heir: the things that make a collection less valuable, or less educational, than it might have been:
1. Time
2. Space
3. Temperature and temperature changes
4. Humidity and humidity changes
5. Vibration and flexure
6. Dust
7. The Sun
8. Natural disasters
9. Moving
10. Insects and other pests
11. Children and other people
12. Loans, trades, and other collectors
13. Sulfur, pyrite, and other minerals
14. Newspaper, tape, glue, and other nonarchival materials
15. Inclination, boredom, lack of discipline, and new worlds to conquer
16. Poverty, death and the disposition of goods and records

Some of these are necessary evils in having both a mineral collection and a life, but let's watch out for them.

Comments are welcome for any evils or other topics you'd like me to mention.

Collection Management VII: What else belongs in your records?

Some information belongs in your collection records, but not on the card accompanying the specimen. In the pre-software era, collections also had log books and catalog cards. The log book (register or catalog) usually told you, for any catalog number, the item species, location, source, and date acquired. The catalog card for each specimen contained the same information as the specimen label, with some additions:

• Dimensions of the specimen (English, metric, or both) and of its largest crystal(s);
• Source information: from whom, his/her address, date, price [or trade or field collection information]. If the specimen's history could be traced further back, often this was provided in the source information (or in the detailed description)
  
• Detailed description of the specimen: color, minerals present, why notable. etc.
• History of the specimen in your possession (e.g., exhibition dates)
• Photographs or other images, or links thereto.
  
• Any relevant references, to the specimen itself, the locality, the mineral species, etc.

In the computer era, various collection management software is commercially available to hold this information. Simple searchable versions can be made using Excel, or comparable spreadsheet software.

Collection Management VI: The Label, part 4 (last)

What else goes on this little label?

I write a small description of the specimen at the bottom, such as:

• Gray metallic massive
• Pencil-shaped crystals
• Green, pink, and blue Xtals on matrix [Xtals = crystals]
• Blue XOM [XOM = crystals on matrix]
• Blue mXOM [mXOM = microscopic crystals on matrix]
• Massive; from type locality
• Heavy!
• Fragile! Don't touch Xtals!
• Water soluble white XOM
• Poisonous gray octahedra OM
• Radioactive yellow powdery OM
• et cetera.
  

That is, the description should be a short version of anything you would say to a beginning collector who wanted to look at the specimen.

---

Also, you may want a border, signature, or "from the collection of..." statement on each of your labels.

---

I put indexing information on the back of my labels. I am a systematic collector, so the label gets the Dana numbers (from Dana's System of Mineralogy, currently in its eighth edition) for each of the minerals present.

Collection Management IV: The Label, Part 2

Last week, I mentioned that a mineral label should accompany each specimen. It should display: a number, the mineral identity, the locality, a short description of the specimen, and possibly the mineral formula (chemistry), and a descriptor for the collection itself. I also discussed the specimen number (as used on the label). Let's look at some other items.

The mineral identity (species, possibly variety):
The standard reference used is Fleischer's Glossary of Mineral Species, published by the Mineralogical Record Press. (The 2008 edition is marred by a controversial decision by the IMA that renamed many common minerals, including those in the apatite mineral group; the decision has now been reversed, so some mineral names are already outdated.)

I tend to use variety names when they are available, such as:

Beryl, variety Emerald
Beryl, var. Emerald
Beryl v. Emerald

The next item, when present, is the Mineral Formula. You can use words:

beryllium aluminum silicate

or the chemical formula:

Be3Al2Si6O18

I usually do not include additional chemical information true for the variety in the formula (such as the presence of Cr and/or V in emerald); I put that information in the comments field, if anywhere.

Collection Management - II

Each item in a collection needs:

• a unique descriptor (e.g., specimen number),
  
• an accompanying label,
• a permanent record,
• and safe, accessible storage.
  

In this post, I will discuss the unique descriptor.

Typically, this is a unique number assigned to the specimen. It may also be an alphanumeric character string, a bar code, etc.; but a symbol that requires a sophisticated scanner to read assumes that scanning system will be available for the useful life of the specimen (which may be centuries).

For minerals, this number is usually affixed to the specimens, either by writing or painting it on the specimen, or by attaching a printed label with permanent glue.

For loose gemstones, typically each gemstone has its own box, and a label with the descriptor is affixed to the box. As the label is not physically attached to the stone, it helps to include the gemstone weight on its label as a quick (but not exact) check for its identity.

Every record for this specimen should include the descriptor. Descriptor should not be used for more than one specimen (except in the case of bulk samples, where each bulk sample needs a unique descriptor, and individual grains in the sample only need separate descriptors when they are separated out for some purpose, like research or display). Descriptors should never be reused, since even if a specimen is destroyed, lost, or traded away, its records should remain with the collection.


I provide collection management services professionally, so feel free to contact me!