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Re: Monahans question
Gene Roberts schrieb:
> Steve,
>
> I believe the law is pretty specific about the property owner owning
> the
> meteorite. Since one meteorite fell in a street, ownership will
> probably fall
> to the town, city, county or state, depending on who actually owns the
> road.
> Not necessarily the same as who maintains it.
>
> Gene
>
> MeteorHntr wrote:
> >
> > Hello list,
> >
> > I have a question about who owns meteorites that fall on CITY
> property?
> > Specifically, there was mention of one of the Monahans meteorites
> hitting in a
> > city street. I know the Smithsonian gets to confiscate meteorites
> found on
> > federal property, but do they own it if it was found on state or
> local
> > property?
> >
> > Steve Arnold
Hello List,
With regard to the Old Woman meteorite, you find the following passages
in O.R. Norton’s RFS (1st/2nd eds., p. 253):
Consider the situation. Here was the government's top meteoriticist on
the site of one of the great meteorite finds. Its scientific value was
incalculable. On the other side, here were two tough miners who had
searched for years in hopes of finding a gold mine. In their eyes, they
had struck gold, and they hoped to sell the specimen to the government
or to the highest bidder. They were convinced the rock was worth a
million dollars, and they expected a sizable reward for their find.
Clarke was in an awkward position. On the return trip to Twentynine
Palms, Friburg and Jendruczak pressed Clarke for a serious appraisal of
the situation. Clarke explained that the question was not who held title
to the specimen, which the miners claimed was theirs according to the
Mining Law of 1872, but who held title to the land on which they found
it. Furthermore, Clarke explained, meteorites were not a "locatable
mineral" as defined by the Mining Law of 1872. And if they had found it
on public land, the United States Government was the legal owner,
regardless of who found it.
According to an account published by the California Mining journal in
August 1977, Clarke said that the government could claim the meteorite
under the provisions of the Antiquities Act, in which meteorites found
on public lands were considered objects of scientific interest and
therefore belong to the government. There is no question that the
meteorite was an object of scientific interest, but meteorites are not
specifically mentioned in the body of the act. The law was written to
apply primarily to archaeological artifacts. However, the government has
interpreted the act to include anything of scientific interest.
Best wishes, Bernd
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