Telescope Reviews: Ode to the Riker Box Display

There are a few inventions in the world that demand our gratitude. In no particular order, these inventions are :

1) the wheel
2) fire
3) running water
4) sliced bread
5) the Riker Box

But, as much as I enjoy and appreciate the things on the above list, the Riker box is often overlooked for it's enormous contributions to society.

The Riker box is the gold standard for specimen display - no matter what your specimen might be. Coins, stamps, fossils, minerals, insects, civil war relics, gemstones, and a jillion other objects find a perfect home in a Riker box. When it comes to storing and displaying small meteorites, the Riker box rules the roost. For micromounts and small macros, the 3x4" Riker box is the standard. It is 3/4" deep, so it's only appropriate for slices and specimens with a thin profile. (Anything chunky and wider than 3/4" will prevent the Riker from being closed and pinned shut.)

The 3x4" Riker is everywhere on the web and generally sells for $2 to $3 each. I use a lot of them in my business and personal collection, so I buy them in cases of 36 to get a better price. In the back of each Riker box, behind the white fiber-fill, I put a packet of dessicant and the original specimen card from the dealer I acquired the meteorite from. This provides a handy place to keep specimen cards from being seperated from their host specimen. The dessicant pack can also be strategically placed to build up the space behind a small micromount and push it against the glass lid of the Riker - holding it firm and keeping it from shifting or moving around when the Riker is handled.

The nice black metal labels that Roman Jirasek sells at meteoritelabels.com (I am not affiliated in any way) are perfect for these Riker boxes. They fit into half of the Riker box window, leaving the other half for the specimen. I use the bent labels because I don't like the appearance of the "fill in the blank" area at the bottom of the flat type labels. Once the label is inside the Riker, the fiber filling conforms around it and you cannot notice the label is bent for free-standing.

Here are some of my micromounts and smaller macromounts that I keep in Riker boxes. Since I took this photo, my collection of meteorites in Riker boxes with labels has grown by several. They are like potato chips - you can't have just one. And when grouped together on a shelf or in a display cabinet, they make a great visual impact.

Also, as seen in the photo, a standard gemjar will fit into a Riker box.

Clear skies!

MikeG