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One of the more misleading aspects of collecting minerals is knowing what size category your specimen falls into. It seems that everyone has a different opinion about certain size categories. We have researched the catagories with several sources and organizations and come up with the following list of specimen size catagories. Bear in mind that we do not want to confuse anyone when ordering from us so we will give the dimensions of each specimen rather than just labeling it with a size catagory.

 



Micromount

Very small, usually affixed permanently to a pedestal in a display container (traditional North American style) with putty or other adhesive material. These specimens need magnification to be viewed. The matrix itself is often smaller ¼ inch.

Micromineral

Still very small. Specimen is usually affixed in it's display container with putty or other adhesive material. Matrix is usually more abundant than with the "Micromount" size. These specimens still need magnification to be viewed.

Thumbnail

Specimens that fit inside a 1¼ x 1¼ x 1¼ inch plastic container known as "perky boxes". Specimen has features that can be seen under mild or no magnification. However, a micrmount specimen may be indicated to have "thumbnail sized matrix", but it would still have tiny crystals that needed 10x or higher magnification.

Miniature

The next size up is a "Miniature". Specimens from 1¼ to 2¼ are considered miniatures. This category includes any specimen too small to be considered "Small Cabinet" size but too large to fit in a "perky box". This size fits easily in a 2½ x 2½ x 2½ inch plastic box.

Small Cabinet

This category includes specimens ranging in size from 2¼ to 3 inches across the primary display face.

Cabinet

Specimens starting at 3 inches across the primary display face and larger.

Perky Box

 

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