Obviously, a one millimetre quartz crystal costs a great deal less than a ten centimetre one. A single, common, ten centimetre quartz crystal can go for twice that amount, while a Sweet Home Mine rhodochrosite of ten centimetres is well into the thousands. It is a mark of honour that a field collector of micro material keeps enough for his own needs and exchanges, and brings the excess to a symposium to be given away. Micromounting is one of the few hobbies in which one can build an entire collection for free. Seven is in some ways an extension of six.
Many collectors exchange minerals with others.
A package containing two dozen micromounts can weigh less than 100 grams and be sent airmail, while a single cabinet specimen may require a parcel shipping agent and many dollars' worth of packing material. Exchanges of micromounts are frequent, easy, and cheap. I have made exchanges with collectors in North America, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, all at very little cost. Response eight is that there is more than simple identification skill required to make a micromount. Micromounting in its true sense incorporates aesthetic value as well as scientific.