Free guides to identifying the rocks, crystals, fossils and shells you find, and to collecting them.

Test a stone at home

Simple home tests (scratch, streak, magnet, weight, lustre) and what they can and cannot prove, plus checks on suspected meteorites, gold, diamonds and crystals, and when to go to a museum, jeweller or gem lab.

• Pyrite vs gold and how to tell fool's gold from real goldTell pyrite, chalcopyrite and mica from real gold at home with a pin, a streak, weight and crystal shape, and why a rock can hold gold you can't see.

Free tools

• Mineral identification chart you narrow down with home testsTell the chart what your stone does with a nail, a tile, a magnet and vinegar, and it narrows 49 common minerals and rocks. Free and printable.