[Rockhounds] Numbering Specimens (WAS: Paint)

[Lawrence Rush]

John: I use a sequential numerical system, and one of the advantages I find 
is that when a specimen is removed from the database, it is easy to delete 
the record fields, and leave the number intact for "refill" later. It is 
also easy to find the blank spaces with the number still existing by doing a 
database search for blank records. That way the database maintains it's 
integrity.

Larry Rush

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Siebel" <john at pandemoniumgraphics.com>
To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors" 
<rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 4:04 AM
Subject: [Rockhounds] Numbering Specimens (WAS: Paint)


> Hi All,
>
> As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm getting a start on organizing a 
> huge amount of unlabeled specimens. But I'm hitting a mental gridlock when 
> it comes to numbering them. Where to start? Do I simply grab the first one 
> I see and give it the honor of being #0001? Should I start with the more 
> impressive specimens and work my way down from there? Should I work 
> chronologically from earliest collected to most recent (although that 
> sounds unlikely)? How to deal with multiples (like the dozens of 
> stilbite/calcite/quartz from XYZ Quarry)? Do they all get the same number?
>
> I'm also consider sub-classification (if that's the right term), fossils 
> being  f-0001 or 0001-f  for instance. But I can see that getting pretty 
> whacky with the rest of the collection. Any thoughts?
>
> Perhaps Julie's OCD is rubbing off on me but I want to start this process 
> in a logical manner so I'm not tempted to redo it at a later date. Like 
> that will ever happen!
>
> Thanks for any input - John
>
> -- 
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