Recognizing the critical role of samples in the Earth Sciences, the benefits of sample sharing and re-use to scientific research, and the new opportunities of online catalogs and databases, a growing community of science programs, agencies, large sampling campaigns such as the International Continental Drilling Program, sample repositories, and Geoscience data systems endorses the International Geo Sample Number, or IGSN, as an internationally unified approach for the identification and registration of physical specimens that will advance their discovery, access, and utility. An international non-profit organization, the IGSN e.V. (www.igsn.org), was founded in December 2011 to implement and promote standard methods for locating, identifying, and citing physical samples with confidence, by operating an international registration service for the IGSN with a distributed infrastructure for use by and benefit to its members. Please, join this splinter meeting to learn about the IGSN and the IGSN e.V. Beer and wine will be served.