The NY/NJ Mineral, Fossil and Gem Show 2014

I have just returned from the third NY/NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show, held in Edison, New Jersey. With hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors over three days, it is certainly the largest show in the New York and New Jersey area.This year the show had mineral displays tied into the theme of 'The best of the Northeast', along with some other but excellent out-of-theme exhibits.As usual, fossils and dinosaurs abounded, with this Tyranosaurus being a popular attraction:Although there were fewer mineral dealers in the show than last year, the quality of minerals offered remained high, and there were some dealers here you wouldn't find in any other show - but more on that later.Ok. Let's look at some of the minerals that were on offer:Firstly, fromthis fine Topaz after feldspar from Germanyhad selected a few relatively local minerals to add to their selection:had this fabulous little pyromorphite from Bad Ems, GermanyFor something non-mineralogical but of immense curiosity value, how about this piece of the Skylab space station encased in resin?New York'shad some super material to show me:It's always a pleasure to find a nice British mineral when I'm overseas.did not disappoint.had a couple of great American amethysts -I mentioned there were some dealers you wouldn't see in other shows - one is mindat.org regularwho was selling some of his personal collection items at the show. This huge (2.1kg) Topaz crystal was a fine example.Elsewhere other dealers in the more general and wholesale sections also had interesting items to viewThere were various displays and special exhibits at the show. This display of meteorites encouraged visitors to touch a piece of the Moon, Mars and the asteroid Vesta.For the first time, public presentations were organized with speakers Bob Jones and Justin Zzyzx.Justin had also organized the special mineral displays - and one of these was his own collection of asbestos minerals. Not many people share his love of this fibrous death-bringer, but behind glass it's perfectly safe and interesting to see.Hershel Friedman had another display of Amethyst from New Jersey - and even though I'd been to one of the localities (Upper New Street quarry) the previous day and collected Amethyst myself there, I was amazed at the quality of material found.Jim Chenard had a display of Mineral Treasures of the NortheastThe Franklin Mineral Museum and the Sterling Hill Mine Museum again cooperated to provide a fine display of the fluorescent minerals that the region is justly famous for:For those interested in fossils there was plenty on display, a special exhibit of Devonian fossils from Bundenbach, Germany included this fabulous brittle star:had a lovely display of gems and minerals from Maine, as you would probably expect them to.Next to this display Jeff Morrison, the proprietor of the Havey Mine was showing some of the gems and minerals to come out of his mine in Maine.All in all it was a very enjoyable show and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to attend for the second year in a row. I can see this show growing year after year - it has a few challenges ahead - mostly to ensure the right mix of collectors and dealers attend the show, but having spoken at length to the show organizers it is clear to me they are dedicated to making this show even bigger and better for next year - with some exciting ideas for mineral collectors that have never been tried out at a mineral show before. I'm sworn to secrecy about these plans but hope to be able to tell more early next year.