1. Color: The most obvious characteristic, but often unreliable due to impurities.

2. Streak: The color of the mineral's powder when rubbed against a streak plate. More reliable than color.

3. Luster: The way light reflects off a mineral's surface. Descriptions include metallic, glassy, pearly, etc.

4. Hardness: A mineral's resistance to scratching. Measured on Mohs Hardness Scale (1-10).

5. Cleavage: The tendency of a mineral to break along specific planes of weakness.

6. Fracture: The way a mineral breaks when it doesn't cleave. Descriptions include conchoidal (shell-like), splintery, etc.

7. Crystal Habit: The external shape of a mineral. Crystals can be cubic, hexagonal, etc. Often hard to observe due to incomplete crystal formation.

It's important to note that these characteristics are often used together to identify a mineral, as no single characteristic is always reliable.