Born in 1925, Peter Nielsen was raised on a farm on the eastern seaboard of Denmark. It was at the farmhouses of his neighbours, family and friends that he first discovered an interest in the history that lies hidden in the ground. Many of the local farmers displayed the remnants of stone-age tools they had ploughed up from the soil of their fields. These wondrous sights led a young Peter to quest for the same himself. Later, along the shores of the North Sea which lay not far from his front door, he found specimens of amber and seashells and learned of their significance in the history of trade and development between his ancestral northern kinsmen and the southern populations of what is now Europe. Thus at the young age of 10, Peter developed a passion for collecting all manner of mineral, fossil and artefact.
Amazonite, Quadeville, Ontario
Peter Nielsen
Citrine Quartz
Banded Rhodochrosite, Capillitas, Argentina
Beryl variety aquamarine with clevelandite and black schorl tourmaline, Quadeville, Ontario
Smoky Quartz with Fluorite, Pyrite and Gold, Geraldton, Ontario
Variscite (green) and Wardite (yellow), 14cm wide, Fairfield, Utah
Variscite (green) and Wardite (yellow), 14cm wide, Fairfield, Utah
Almandine Garnet, River Valley, Ontario
Amethyst with Smoky and Phantom Quartz, Goodson Place, Iron Station, North Carolina
Calcite Crystals, Marmora Mine, Ontario
Rubellite Tourmaline Crystal, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Double-Terminated Quartz Crystal, Brazil
Erythrite, Cobalt, Ontario
Rubellite Tourmaline, Pala, California
Rose Quartz, Quadeville, Ontario
Rhodonite, British Columbia
Molybdenite, Malartic, Quebec
Cobaltite, Espanola, Ontario
Labradorite, Newfoundland and Labrador
Gold in Quartz, Red Lake, Ontario
Lapis Lazuli Eggs and Sphere, Chile
Thunder Eggs, Nayarit State, Mexico
Sodalite, Bancroft, Ontario
Hollow Thunder Egg
Goethite, Atikokan, Ontario
Smithsonite
Corundum, Gutz Farm, Combermere, Ontario
Chalcedony Rose, Oatman, Arizona
Gypsum Rose, Chihuahua, Mexico
Crazy Lace Agate, Mexico
Herringbone Silver, Langis Mine, Casey Township, Ontario
Chrysocolla, San Manuel, Mexico
Neolithic Flint Axe Head, Belgium
Native Silver, Silver Sidewalk, Lawson Mine, Cobalt, Ontario
Silver with Arsenides, Glen Lake Mine, Cobalt, Ontario
Fire Agate Pieces, Arizona, U.S.A.
Basal Plane Terminated Calcite, Faraday Mine, Bancroft, Ontario
Amethyst, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Amazonite, Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec
Kyanite, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Lazulite, Virginia Station, Georgia, U.S.A.
Neolithic Flint Knives, Belgium
Magnetite crystals, Australia
Unakite, Ontario, Canada
Phantom Quartz
Botryoidal Jade, Tulare County, Porterville, California, U.S.A.
Emerald, Crabtree Emerald Mine, Little Switzerland, North Carolina
Nephrite Jade, British Columbia
Rose Quartz with Denderites, New Mexico, U.S.A.
Graphic intergrowth of Feldspar and Quartz
Common Opal, Oregon, U.S.A.
Sugilite, Unknown Locality
Agatized Tree Limb Slab, Saddle Mountains, Washington, U.S.A.
Mexican Quartz Geodes
Mexican Quartz Geodes
Daisy Stone, Mica Bay, Ontario
Mexican Fire Opal, Querétaro, Mexico
Sandstone with Dendrites, Utah, U.S.A.
Chevron Amethyst, India
Rhyolitic Breccia
Algoma Jade, Echo Lake, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Quartz and Fluorite Slab, Kullagh Lake, Merritt, B.C.
Conularids, Craigleith, Collingwood, Ontario
Rainbow Agate, Janos, Chihuahua, Mexico
Native Silver Vein, Cobalt, Ontario
Breithauptite, Glen Lake Mine, Cobalt, Ontario
Opal, Australia
Brazilian agate
Agate slab
Moss agate, India
Larimar, Dominican Republic
Botryoidal Chalcedony with Drusy Quartz, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Styolites in Limestone
Stibnite, Tuscany, Italy
At age 16 Peter met Soren Knudson, founder of and chief contributor to the Glud Museum in Denmark and his interest grew again such that he spent the next 70 years continuing to collect and support the interests of amateur geology, archaeology and gemology. After emigrating to Canada in 1951 and settling in Woodstock, Ontario, Peter became active in the London Rock and Mineral Club. The experience of that good fellowship met the challenges of travel in Canadian winter, so Peter and friends convened the first meeting of a Woodstock club that kept close ties with London. Over the years Peter served as both President and Newsletter Editor for the Woodstock club and involved himself with clubs in Brantford and, briefly, Kitchener as well. He was a regular at rock and mineral shows in Burlington and Paris and lists Arkona and Bancroft as two of his favourite, regular hunting grounds. While Peter is very proud of his collection, he is even more pleased with the relationships that he developed over the years in sharing this hobby with men and women, young and old. While the specimens in the collection may vary in intrinsic value, each one holds a precious memory of people, places and times for Peter. With that in mind, Peter is extremely honoured and pleased that the University of Waterloo has accepted these pieces into their collection that they might bring future people together in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding and community.