Rock value: Scientific and economic conditions for collecting minerals in the early nineteenth century

Abstract The physician Carl Wilhelm Nose (1753–1835) invested a substantial amount of time and money in exploring the rocks of the Siebengebirge, a mountain range in western Germany from the 1780s onwards. Although virtually unknown today, during his lifetime Nose earned a reputation as a leading mineralogical expert in German-speaking countries. He used his private rock collections as the basis for his research, and hoped that his findings would support his position in one of the fundamental scientific debates of the time – the neptunism–volcanism controversy, which concerns the question of the origin of the earth. At the same time, Nose sought to gain recognition for his rock-collecting work. He gave free samples to institutions and individuals, and donated specimens to various institutions. In 1814 he gifted his private collection of rocks to the Royal Mineral Cabinet in Berlin, a precursor of today’s Museum für Naturkunde there. Nose’s rocks provide deep insights into the mineral-collecting and donation practices of the early nineteenth century, the era in which modern scientific museums emerged. In addition, their collection history shows how the transformation of natural objects into museum objects was linked to the scientific, monetary and economic values attached to them. This paper argues that these natural objects embody epistemic and economic values combined.