[meteorite-list] Who will write the Saharan story?
From: Martin Horejsi <martinh_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:48:13 2004 Message-ID: <B7F74852.19E%martinh_at_isu.edu> > This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --B_3086436435_94074 Content-type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable > Dean B. kindly wrote: >=20 > =B3At the present time we are witnessing history. Not just the sahara but o= ther > deserts to. A time when meteorites cost a small fraction of what they did= just > a few years earlier and after.=B2 >=20 > I agree that it is possible for people to purchase meteorites for =B3a smal= l > fraction=B2 compared to recent history, but this is mostly limited to those= from > hot deserts. By contrast, those from the cold deserts are commanding obsc= ene > prices for their classification, historical falls are doubling or triplin= g > their recent prices and even the prices being asked for many common chond= rites > from locations outside the hot deserts seem to have climbed to where witn= essed > falls were just a decade ago. >=20 > However, there is a giant asterisk here, and that his that the prices are > noted =B3at the pump=B2 shall we say. There are many dealers who are still pa= ying > the same out-of-the-field prices that were paid 10 or 20 years ago. >=20 > There is one more caveat that I see as a major change in meteorite collec= ting > compared to last decade, and that is an increase on the importance of kno= wing > a story within or behind any given meteorite specimen. It used to be said= that > every meteorite has a story behind it, but that is a rough stretch when > talking about many of the hot desert stones. They are of value scientific= ally, > and as collection pieces, but they hardly inspire the sense of wonder tha= t > many of the other specimens the earth has given up, or those who=B9s fall t= he > inhabitants of this planet personally experienced. >=20 > One of the main differences I have always found interesting between miner= al > collecting and meteorite collecting is the stories behind the meteorites = that > often were lacking when it came to minerals and even fossils. Few of the= hot > desert meteorites carry with them much of a story. >=20 > A fear of mine here is that if one cuts their collecting teeth on hot des= ert > meteorites, they will have have missed some of the important elements I f= eel > are important in order for the collector to truly respect the medium that= is > being collected.=20 >=20 > Cheers, >=20 > Martin >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 --B_3086436435_94074 Content-type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [meteorite-list] Who will write the Saharan story?</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana">Dean B. kindly wrote:<BR> <BR> “At the present time we are witnessing history. Not just the sahara b= ut other deserts to. A time when meteorites cost a small fraction of what th= ey did just a few years earlier and after.”<BR> <BR> I agree that it is possible for people to purchase meteorites for “a = small fraction” compared to recent history, but this is mostly limited= to those from hot deserts. By contrast, those from the cold deserts are com= manding obscene prices for their classification, historical falls are doubli= ng or tripling their recent prices and even the prices being asked for many = common chondrites from locations outside the hot deserts seem to have climbe= d to where witnessed falls were just a decade ago. <BR> <BR> However, there is a giant asterisk here, and that his that the prices are n= oted “at the pump” shall we say. There are many dealers who are = still paying the same out-of-the-field prices that were paid 10 or 20 = years ago. <BR> <BR> There is one more caveat that I see as a major change in meteorite collecti= ng compared to last decade, and that is an increase on the importance of kno= wing a story within or behind any given meteorite specimen. It used to be sa= id that every meteorite has a story behind it, but that is a rough stretch w= hen talking about many of the hot desert stones. They are of value scientifi= cally, and as collection pieces, but they hardly inspire the sense of wonder= that many of the other specimens the earth has given up, or those who’= ;s fall the inhabitants of this planet personally experienced. <BR> <BR> One of the main differences I have always found interesting between mineral= collecting and meteorite collecting is the stories behind the meteorites th= at often were lacking when it came to minerals and even fossils. Few o= f the hot desert meteorites carry with them much of a story. <BR> <BR> A fear of mine here is that if one cuts their collecting teeth on hot deser= t meteorites, they will have have missed some of the important elements I fe= el are important in order for the collector to truly respect the medium that= is being collected. <BR> <BR> Cheers,<BR> <BR> Martin<BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY> </HTML> --B_3086436435_94074-- Received on Sat 20 Oct 2001 05:27:15 PM PDT |
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