Not all rocks are created equal, which is evident at the annual rock auction sponsored by the Sacramento State Geology Club. This year’s auction will be held at 6 p.m., Nov. 21, in the University Union’s Ballroom I, and will feature rocks of all sorts, sizes and importance.
“Like beauty, value is often in the eye of the beholder,” says professor Lisa Hammersley, Geology Club faculty advisor. “There will be hundreds of rocks, minerals and fossils for people to bid on, and each person looks for something different that they like. Some look for interesting minerals, while others like the natural designs and patterns in the rocks. Some like rocks that glitter or have a luminescence and others like rocks because they have unusual structures.”
The event features a silent auction and a live auction. During the silent action, which goes by fairly quickly, people find a rock or two they like, write down bids for them and wait to see if they stand. “It gets a little frantic as the time limit approaches, and people swoop in at the last second to get in a final bid,” says Dave Evans, chair of the department and auctioneer for the event.
Action is even more intense during the live auction as collectors continuously raise the stakes in an effort to outbid each other.
Last year’s auction raised more than $9,000 for the club. Funds are used to help students with fees for field courses. The club will also use some of the proceeds to make rock and mineral sample boxes to distribute to local schools.
Rock and mineral samples for the auction are donated by students, faculty, local firms and mineral collectors. Specimens vary in size from pebbles to big rocks for gardens and include spectacular crystals, geodes, fossils, highly-polished rocks and gems and the occasional precious metal.
