QUALITY INN Tucson Show

TUCSON GEM & MINERAL SHOWS
QUALITY INN
New in 2007

Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show, Tucson, AZ (...map)
(...2010 Dealer List)

Dates:     January 30–February 13, 2010

Description:     Over 400 dealers from all over the globe. Free shuttle bus to other shows.

Show Hours:     10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Sat. Feb. 13 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

Admission:     No admission fee. Registration is not required. Plenty of free parking.

4 Locations:

The Mineral & Fossil Marketplace , 1333 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ
Hotel Tucson City Center - formerly InnSuites Hotel. 475 N. Granada, Tucson, AZ. 200 Dealers, Fossil Hall, Meteorite Dealers, Minerals, Gems & Jewelry. Artists Gallery and Art in Stone display.
Ramada Limited, 665 N. Freeway, Tucson, AZ
Quality Inn-Benson Hwy., 1025 E. Benson Hwy. Tucson, AZ.

These are the true, big time, mineral and fossil shows here in Tucson. If your looking for museum quality display specimens, the AMFS shows are the ones to visit. If your looking for the biggest ban for your buck, these are not necessarily the best places to look. As a general rule: If you see it in an expensive motel room at an expensive hotel show, the prices are inflated to cover the extra overhead. If you see the same quality of specimen at a warehouse or tent show, you will get a lot more for less money. That said, if your willing to buy in LARGE quantities, you may be able to get an excellent buy even at a hotel show. And finally, if you wait till the last day of a particular show, you can get great deals because most dealers DO NOT want to have to carry a lot of heavy specimens back home. The problem with waiting till the very last day is that you will not have the best selection of material or may have missed out completely on the specimens that you waited to buy. So, it all boils down to knowing where to go to get the best deals and skipping everything else till you have most of your shopping done! (I wish I could follow my own advice!)

[2007] Martin Zinn has made this his new one on the Tucson show scene. Made up of some of last years Executive Inn dealers and a few Clarion vendors. Lots of Russian, Chinese, and German dealers. This show should get better next year and in the future. Lots of parking and easy access off of I-10

[2010] This Marty Zinn show is definatly one of his cheaper shows. All Chinese, Russian, and India dealers with only four domestic vendors present. Place look kind of grim with very few buyers wandering around. Not all rooms on the courtyard filled! GOOD PLACE FOR BARGINS AS THE DEALERS ARE VERY HUNGRY FOR A SALE.

[2007]

2010

VERY FEW TENTS THIS YEAR IN THE COURTYARD.

2010

WHERE ARE ALL THE BUYERS?????

[2007]

BIG MARBLES . . . ROSE QUARTZ

[2005]

A bunch of tent dealers in the motel courtyard. They didn't look as happy as the dealers who were occupying the motel rooms. Bad weather? I did rain a lot!

The Fossil Geode
Mickey Cecil
904-725-005
http://www.thefossilgeode.com

Apalachee Minerals
Gary Maddox
850-443-0504
http://www.apalachee-minerals.com

[2007]

Mickey Cicel

2004, 2005, and 2006 at the Executive Inn show. 2007 at the Quality Inn off Benson Hwy.

Rucks' Pit Material, FORT DRUM, FL.
2007 - Micky and Gary's final show in Tucson took place at the Quality Inn.

New matrix specimens prepared with a air chisel.

New matrix specimens prepared with a fossil type air chisel.

[2006]

[2004]

Beautiful gemmy, honey-colored, calcite crystal-lined shell geodes

in a coquina matrix ranging from 4-7 inches

2007

Gary Maddox starting the long and arduous process of setting up the room for the show.
(2006 Executive Inn picture)

Mickey Cecil totaling up his sales... (2004 Executive Inn picture)

[2007]

BLUE HALITE

FROM KLODAWA POLAND

This Polish dealer also had a large display of "banded Gem Flint" from Poland at some high prices. Never heard of a GEM variety of flint?

[2006]

RUSSIAN ROOM

Tschermigite (lab grown and a fake)

Lesson in mineral buying: If you see a mineral which you are not familiar with, write down the particulars and go to the lobby computer room or use your own laptop to go to Mindat.org to research your find. The fakes above were pictured on Mindat.org with extensive details on how Russian dealers were trying to pass them off as Tschermigite. It is actually a Potassium Chromium(III) - Alum. Because of the chromium content, these specimens are very poisonous and you should always wash your hands after touching them. The Russians also do a lot of faking of gem stones.

Quality Inn
"AKS Gem Show"
2003
[This show only lasted one or two years]

TENT AND MOTEL SHOW:

After the heavy downpours subsided, most of the dealers at this show decided to wait till the sun came out. We came back later in the day but only a couple were open for business.