John Ebner is a hall of fame micromounter and dyed in the wool collector of all things micromount. He has dedicated his life to the pursuit of collecting and preserving historic elements related to the mounting of micro minerals. From an early age John was an avid collector, always adding to his collection of stamps and coins. It wasn't until he joined a local mineral society in New Jersey at the age of 38, that his love of minerals began.
Since joining the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society in 1979, John has collected more than 50,000 micro-mounted specimens. He stores the collection at his micromount Hall of Fame Museum. Notable items he preserves include microscopes from members of the Micromounters Hall of Fame and a variety of mining memorabilia. John's museum is the worlds most comprehensive micromount collection in the world. His museum collection has a breadth and depth few have seen outside of a institutional offering.
John's desire is to keep the knowledge and history of micromounting preserved for future generations . With historic elements from greats Paul Seel to Harvard's world renowned scientist Charles Palache's original microscope, the history within the museum is impressive. John is a micromount legend. His passion to promote and preserve micromounting will influence the society, fellow enthusiasts, and researchers for many years to come.
In John's own words:
"If you go into micro mineralogy it is a whole new world under the microscope than what you see with the hand specimens. It's entirely different. The minerals are better formed, generally less damaged, and you can still easily collect them where you might not be able to find a good hand specimens. You can build a really nice collection, at a moderate cost and have a lot of fun...if you are a collector. If you're not a collector then go find something else to do."
John
84 years old
Primary focus: micromounting historian and preservationist
Society Member since 1979