Review of NYC Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show

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The New York Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show was Nov 8-9 at the Holiday Inn, Midtown Manhattan. Hosted by Excalibur Mineral and the New York Mineralogical Club, we visited both days, and from our first-hand reports, anecdotal reports from the dealers, and the fact that the New York Mineralogical Club had 9 new members at the half-way point of day one, the show was a success.

Upon entering the first table is the New York Mineralogical Club and a friendly group on hand to help identify minerals and gems, promote the club’s membership and educational programs, and entice new members to join. As we have written about before, belonging to more than one gem and mineral club, diversifying your passion and hobby between more than one club, is in our opinion the most fulfilling way to pursue rockhounding, gemology, geology, and paleontology.

Next, past the club table are the dealers, and Excalibur Mineral attracts a wide-range of very famous and well-known dealers, who each have their steady audience, following, and line of clients at the show, to new dealers and operations selling thumb-nail specimens to fossil artwork masterpieces ready for display in a Wall Street executive’s office. There are also a number a dealers selling very affordable gems and minerals, rough stones for your own lapidary and cabochon craftsmanship, and many stones suitable for a young rockhound.

So for the serious collector you will find the fine museum pieces, and for youngsters spending their allowance, you will find bargains from around the world that may inspire a youngster into geology or into paleontology.

Now for the gem and mineral industry crowd, there is also an impressive a very large room devoted to wholesale lots. Entrance requires a tax ID number, and there is a minimum as the lots are intended for re-sale by other dealers and professionals.

So pardon the cliche, but “something for everyone.”

Now before or after the show, or if you take a break, what to do about brunch or lunch? Well our suggestion is walk over to 9th Avenue, the hotel is between 9th and 10th, when you get to 9th, turn left or right and you have a great selection of bars serving brunch, and diners and restaurants if you have youngsters with you. There is a cafe in the hotel, but the show is in such a great part of town, right by Columbus Circle in fact, that you will have a better day if you take advantage of where you are, and dine outside the hotel. The other tip we have is if you go on Saturday, and think you may return on Sunday, then on Saturday pay for a weekend pass.

If you make the NYC Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show a special reason to come into the city, take advantage of where you are and also visit the Museum of Arts and Design or the American Folk Art Museum which are both within walking distance from the show.

Hop into a cab for a short ride, or take the subway, and of course just a little further north of the show is arguably the grand-daddy of all gem, mineral, and fossil collections at the American Museum of Natural History.