I am a physicist who has been collecting minerals from around the world for about 20 years now. I have traveled to Sri Lanka and Brazil multiple times, and to Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria for collecting once.

My main interests are gem mineral crystals and phenomenon stones (e.g. stars, cats-eyes, pleochroic and color-change stones), although I also collect rare minerals, radioactives and just about anything else that catches my fancy. I've also started collecting faceted stones--hey, they're a whole lot lighter than the 30 kilos of rocks, crystals and minerals I used to haul home.

My collection includes material from the US, Africa (Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria), Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Canada and a few odds and ends from elsewhere. I do have some extras and am happy to trade.