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Mineral Collector Jargon
This is a list of abbreviations and unusual jargon commonly used by mineral collectors. These are the more common terms a neophyte collector is likely to be confused by. Explanations of the terms are kept short in the interest of brevity. Sources of definitions and some terms include Sinkankas' Mineralogy and a 1974 editorial by John S. White Jr., in MR V5 #2. |
| acicular | Highly elongated or needle-like crystals, examples are millerite or natrolite. |
| anhedral | A mineral grain with no crystal form at all. |
| association | When two or more minerals occur on the same specimen. The epitome of association would be a topaz crystal growning on a quartz crystal, on a feldspar crystal. Of more interest to collectors than specimens showing solitary species. |
| attachment | A point of damage on a crystallized specimen where it was formerly attached to matrix or other crystals. Generally more acceptable than damage caused by collecting or handling the specimen. |
| botryoidal | A bumpy, grape-like formation, examples are hematite or malachite. |
| cab | Short for cabochon. As well, short for cabinet specimen, ~3" or bigger. |
| cabbing | The art of making cabochons. |
| cabochon | A polished stone, usually oval with a low dome and a flat back, which can also be various other shapes. Cabochon is french for "polished stone." |
| classic locality | Used to describe a famous, usually long-dead locality, which has produced fantastic specimens. An example would be Knappenwand, Switzerland, known for its magnificent epidote crystals. |
| Dana | Dana's Textbook of Mineralogy, an outdated but still valuable set of mineralogy books. |
| Dana Collector | A person who collects minerals from Dana localities. |
| Dana Locality | A locality mentioned in Dana's Textbook of Mineralogy. |
| decorator specimen | An unusually large, attractive specimen of a common mineral, usually bought by non-collectors for use as house decorations. |
| ding | A small point of damage on a crystal. As in "That's a nice crystal, except for that ding." |
| doorstop | A large, heavy, usually ugly specimen of 8" or so, handy for propping open doors. |
| druse | A coating of closely-packed crystals, usually small. As in drusy quartz. |
| EM | The Encyclopedia of Minerals, an excellent reference book. |
| euhedral | Mineral showing fully developed crystal form. Of maximum interest to collectors. |
| faden quartz | Crystals with a milky central zone caused by widening of the vein during growth. |
| flat | Shallow cardboard trays which pop and beer come in , ideal for storing and transporting specimens. |
| Fleischer | The Glossary of Mineral Species, by Fleischer/Mandarino, an essential book. AKA glossary. |
| floater | A crystal or cluster of crystals showing complete development, with no point of attachment to matrix, "as though it grew floating in a fluid medium." (J. White) |
| fluorescent mineral | One which produces visible light when bombarded with photons. Ultraviolet light can produce vibrant red, green, blue, yellow, and other colors in a variety of minerals. Some 500 minerals fluoresce. |
| geode | A hollow, generally spherical structure, lined with inwardly-projecting crystals. |
| gwindel | A twisted crystal, most famously Swiss quartz, which can occur in unusually flattened crystals twisted in corkscrew fashion. |
| H | hardness |
| HBM | The Handbook of Mineralogy, a handy reference series. |
| HCl | Hydrochloric acid, of great use for the removal of massive calcite or other carbonates, to expose hidden crystals. Sold diluted, as muriatic acid. |
| hemimorphic | A crystal which has different terminations at each end of the crystal. Examples are tourmaline and hemimorphite. |
| Herkimer diamond | Quartz crystals found in the vicinity of Herkimer, New York. These crystals can be very diamond-like - perfectly clear, colorless, and doubly terminated, with flat and lustrous faces and a nice sparkle. |
| Hey's | Hey's Mineral Index, a book useful for its inclusion of many old discredited names. |
| highgrade | Several uses. Highgrade ore is exceptionally rich. To highgrade a mineral collection is to sort out the best specimens. Highgrading in the mining industry means either removing only the best ore or, more commonly, theft by miners. |
| hopper crystal | Crystals with stepped cavities, caused by rapid growth at fascial intersections. Halite, pyromorphite, vanadinite, and galena often form hopper crystals. |
| idunnoite | An expert's identification of a mineral he's not familiar with. |
| inclusion | One mineral occurring within another. Inclusions can also be liquid or gaseous. These are highly desirable, for example a quartz crystal with a pyrite crystal included is of far more interest than an unincluded quartz crystal. |
| Japan law twin | A pair of quartz crystals, typically formed in a flattened v-shape, joined at an angle of 84 degrees 30 minutes. Generally expensive. |
| keystone | Half price. Specimens sold wholesale, from one dealer to another, are keystoned. Interestingly enough, the specimens are occasionally doubled in price before being keystoned. |
| killer | An exceptional specimen. |
| leaverite | What you've got when the field trip leader looks at it and says "Leave 'er right there." |
| loupe | a low-powered magnifying lens, usually folding, used in the field. |
| LW | Long wave ultraviolet light. |
| macro | A specimen which is between a micro and a tn in size, not quite either. |
| matrix | The rock the mineral is formed on. Matrix specimens are of more interest than single crystals, because rock matrix offers a variety of information. |
| micro | Short for micromount. |
| micromount | A specimen which requires magnification for best appreciation, mounted in a 3/4" box. |
| min | A miniature, a specimen about 2". |
| mineralist | One who studies and collects minerals. |
| mm | Short for micromount. |
| MR | The Mineralogical Record, the premiere collectors magazine. |
| native element | An element which is found uncombined, in a nongaseous state, in nature. About 30 are known at present, the most famous being native gold. |
| NFS | Not for sale. The very finest specimens are often marked NFS, to the heartbreak of collectors. |
| oxalic | Oxalic acid, used to remove iron staining. |
| paramorph | Minerals which have the same composition but different crystal structures. |
| pegmatite | A very coarse-grained igneous rock, usually occurring in irregular dikes, lenses, or veins. Can be simple or complex. Pegmatite dikes are very important to the collector, as pockets filled with crystals are often present. |
| perky box | The original name for thumbnail boxes, from their inventor, Willard Perkin. |
| phantom | A ghostly crystal within a crystal, formed by either the deposition of a thin coating of another mineral, or a color change occurring during the growth of the crystal. The coating or zone of color perfectly duplicates the form of the smaller, earlier crystal. |
| ps. after | Pseudomorph after. As in quartz ps. after wulfenite, also written quartz ps. wulfenite or just quartz after wulfenite. |
| pseudo | Short for pseudomorph. |
| pseudomorph | One mineral replacing another but retaining the form of the replaced mineral. Pseudomorphs are many and varied, and highly collectible. |
| rabbit rock | What you've picked up when the field trip leader looks at it and throws it in the bush, because he thought he saw a rabbit! |
| REE | Rare earth element, or rare earth, elements like cesium, lanthanum, etc. |
| reverse scepter | A prismatic crystal with a thick, overgrown central portion and thinner tips. |
| rock softener | Dynamite. While not many collectors are licensed to use it, we all wish we were. |
| rutilated | Inclusions of rutile, as in rutilated quartz, which is quartz filled with acicular golden needles of rutile. |
| scab | A small cabinet specimen, about 3" |
| scepter crystal | A symmetrical capping or overgrowth of a thicker crystal on the tip of a thinner crystal. Quartz provides the best scepter crystals. Also see reverse scepter. |
| SEM | Scanning electron microscope, very useful equipment for taking pictures of very very small crystals. Every micromounter should have one or two! |
| SG | Specific gravity |
| silver pick | Collecting with the silver pick means buying specimens. |
| sleeper | An unusually underpriced specimen, a real treat to find but fairly rare. Knowledgeable collectors can spot sleepers from across the room, in the dark. |
| species collector | A collector who is devoted to obtaining as many different species as possible. |
| subhedral | Mineral showing only traces of crystal form. |
| SW | Short wave ultraviolet light. |
| tailgate | Selling specimens from the back of a vehicle in the parking lot at a show. |
| termination | The end of a crystal, preferably with faces. Unterminated crystals are undesirable. |
| thunder egg | A roughly spherical solid nodule of quartz, often colorfully patterned. |
| tn | A thumbnail, which is a specimen which fits in a 1.25" box. |
| toenail | A specimen just between a tn and a miniature in size. |
| tumble | Polishing stones with various abrasive grits, usually in a rotating barrel. |
| twin | Crystals intergrown in a fixed relationship, with unvarying angles. |
| type | Specimen |
| UK | Unknown |
| UV | Ultraviolet |
| vug | Basically an irregular hole, in rock. Synonyms include pocket, cleft, cavity, vugh. Finding a vug loaded with crystals is the name of the game. |
| wall terminated | A crystal lacking terminal faces due to growing across a cavity and into the opposite wall. Not to be confused with "well terminated." |
| watermelon tourmaline | A tourmaline crystal with a red interior and green skin. |
| xl | crystal |
| xln | crystalline |
| xls | crystals |
| xtal, xtl, xx, xxn | Other, lesser used abbreviations of crystal or crystalline. |