[meteorite-list] The big questions?

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From: FERNLEA4_at_aol.com <FERNLEA4_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:52:25 2004
Message-ID: <a0.2c423cc1.2aa236ac_at_aol.com>

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In a message dated 30/08/02 17:54:06 GMT Daylight Time,
shauncdaniel_at_hotmail.com writes:

> What it comes down to is this, how can anyone that can't study these rocks
> know for sure what they are. Say I purchased two different H4 meteorites
> and both look alike in most respects. How can anyone know its not the same
> stone with a different name pinned on it.

Hi Shaun and all.
I don't think anyone replied to Shaun's questions, so I'll have a stab at
answering them.
Regarding two different H4's that look the same visually, and how to tell
that they're not from the same stone, the short answer to this is.....you
can't!...at least, not easily!
With a bit of collecting/dealing experience, you can get a "feel" for some
named meteorites and know what to expect them to look like, but that's VERY
far from being conclusive and not much better than an educated guess. Even
electron microprobe and petrologic microscope might not be able to duplicate
the original analysis exactly, and tell with 100% certainty, precisely which
named fall or find is under study.

When buying meteorites, anyone should ask themselves how much faith they have
in a dealer/seller, or ask other collectors for their opinions about them.
Crap and bogus sellers don't tend to last very long in this game luckily, so
anyone should be able to find out quite easily who to avoid.
Major dealers often trade meteorites with museums & institutions, and when a
trade completes there's a certain amount of documentation involved. Other
times, deals might be closed with professional meteoriticists, but there's
usually full TRACEABILITY in one form or another. Personally speaking, I
don't (and won't!) start pulling out past trade documentation from the filing
cabinet and wave them about just to prove something to a cautious buyer in
order to close a sale, but I have them here safely.

<< How can I assure anyone who buys my product that this is the genuine
article.>>

It can take time - especially if this is the first time the buyer has ever
considered buying a meteorite before, and perhaps only then because they
chanced upon your website late one night while playing around with the search
engines. Anyone with any common sense would surely find out a bit more about
meteorites before parting with hard cash, but they will probably look to you
as the expert and fire a load of questions at you. Don't blind them with
science and talk of chondrules or stuff like that (not yet! ;-) )......if
they are genuinely interested, pictures are probably the best place for them
to start learning. Maybe tell them to look in their family encyclopaedia
under "meteorites" and to check out the pictures of etched iron meteorites
and cut stones. I have an old set of encylopaedias here that are almost as
old as I am (41), but they have pages and pages of meteorite info & pictures
which clearly match many iron & stony meteorites on the market
today....sometimes, they ARE the actual meteorites on the market today!!
Failing that, library books, the internet etc.
Just don't give them the hard-sell routine, as it rarely works anyway.

<< you have to admitt, this is a funny market on meteorites. >>

That's for sure!
Some people I've met over the years are beyond convincing and will never
fully believe that these chunks of stone & iron are genuine meteorites, no
matter what I tell them. To some, it's all seems far too unlikely that
private individuals can ever own a meteorite.
Books help, especially those with pictures that clearly match up with the
space rock you're holding in your hand alongside the page. Arm yourself with
Richard Norton's new "Rocks from Space" and then let people make up their own
minds during your next "show and tell" session :-)

Cheers,
Rob.
www.meteorites.uk.com
Fernlea Meteorites,
The Wynd,
Off Dickson Lane,
Milton of Balgonie,
Fife. KY7 6PY
United Kingdom
Tel: +44-(0)1592-751563
Fax: +44-(0)1592-751991
Mobile: 07909-773929
Email: fernlea4_at_aol.com

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<HTML>In a message dated 30/08/02 17:54:06 GMT Daylight Time, shauncdaniel_at_hotmail.com writes: 
 
 
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">What it comes down to is this,  how can anyone that can't study these rocks know for sure what they are. Say I purchased two different  H4 meteorites and both look alike in most respects. How can anyone know its not the same stone with a different name pinned on it.</BLOCKQUOTE> 
 
Hi Shaun and all. 
I don't think anyone replied to Shaun's questions, so I'll have a stab at answering them. 
Regarding two different H4's that look the same visually, and how to tell that they're not from the same stone, the short answer to this is.....you can't!...at least, not easily! 
With a bit of collecting/dealing experience, you can get a "feel" for some named meteorites and know what to expect them to look like, but that's VERY far from being conclusive and not much better than an educated guess. Even electron microprobe and petrologic microscope might not be able to duplicate the original analysis exactly, and tell with 100% certainty, precisely which named fall or find is under study. 
 
When buying meteorites, anyone should ask themselves how much faith they have in a dealer/seller, or ask other collectors for their opinions about them. Crap and bogus sellers don't tend to last very long in this game luckily, so anyone should be able to find out quite easily who to avoid. 
Major dealers often trade meteorites with museums & institutions, and when a trade completes there's a certain amount of documentation involved. Other times, deals might be closed with professional meteoriticists, but there's usually full TRACEABILITY in one form or another. Personally speaking, I don't (and won't!) start pulling out past trade documentation from the filing cabinet and wave them about just to prove something to a cautious buyer in order to close a sale, but I have them here safely. 
 
<< How can I assure anyone who buys my product that this is the genuine article.>> 
 
It can take time - especially if this is the first time the buyer has ever considered buying a meteorite before, and perhaps only then because they chanced upon your website late one night while playing around with the search engines. Anyone with any common sense would surely find out a bit more about meteorites before parting with hard cash, but they will probably look to you as the expert and fire a load of questions at you. Don't blind them with science and talk of chondrules or stuff like that (not yet! ;-) )......if they are genuinely interested, pictures are probably the best place for them to start learning. Maybe tell them to look in their family encyclopaedia under "meteorites" and to check out the pictures of etched iron meteorites and cut stones. I have an old set of encylopaedias here that are almost as old as I am (41), but they have pages and pages of meteorite info & pictures which clearly match many iron & stony meteorites on the market today....sometimes, they ARE the actual meteorit
es on the market today!! Failing that, library books, the internet etc. 
Just don't give them the hard-sell routine, as it rarely works anyway. 
 
<< you have to admitt, this is a funny market on meteorites. >> 
 
That's for sure! 
Some people I've met over the years are beyond convincing and will never fully believe that these chunks of stone & iron are genuine meteorites, no matter what I tell them. To some, it's all seems far too unlikely that private individuals can ever own a meteorite. 
Books help, especially those with pictures that clearly match up with the space rock you're holding in your hand alongside the page. Arm yourself with Richard Norton's new "Rocks from Space" and then let people make up their own minds during your next "show and tell" session :-) 
 
Cheers, 
Rob. 
www.meteorites.uk.com 
Fernlea Meteorites, 
The Wynd, 
Off Dickson Lane, 
Milton of Balgonie, 
Fife. KY7 6PY 
United Kingdom 
Tel: +44-(0)1592-751563 
Fax: +44-(0)1592-751991 
Mobile: 07909-773929 
Email: fernlea4_at_aol.com</HTML>

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Received on Sat 31 Aug 2002 11:11:40 AM PDT

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