How to Label Mineral Specimens: A Simple Collection Record
A mineral collection is more useful when each specimen has a clear record. A small label can keep the name, source and collecting history together. Albite (pericline), Ziller valley, Austria; specimen about 10 × 5 cm. Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons . Image unchanged. Why locality matters The Smithsonian mineral sciences collections organize specimens using details such as locality and catalog number. A home collector can use a simpler version of this idea. The place a specimen came from is part of its story. A practical label template Collection number: use your own unique code, such as M-001. Mineral name: write the best supported identification. Add “possible” or “unconfirmed” when needed. Locality: copy the place exactly as supplied. Keep mine, district, region and country details if known. Source and date: record who supplied it and when you acquired it. Size and photo: measure it without forcing fragile crystals. Photograph it beside a ruler. No...