[meteorite-list] Northwest Africa Meteorites a blessing, or omen?

From: David Freeman <dfreeman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:04 2004
Message-ID: <3C69BACD.6070500_at_fascination.com>

Dear Edward,
I went round and round for a while on getting a NWA myself due to the
same concerns that you have asked. If you would like to have a nice
 looking meteorite that weights a few pounds and you don't want to spend
more than a few hundred dollars then the NWA's have a place. Yes, they
are no-name-orphan-step-children....BUT, I bought a one pounder for $17
at the Michael Blood auction. Makes a very affordable and fun gift for
a cousin with a couple dozen young future meteorite hunters to play
with...who know's maybe "uncle" Dave may have a whole troop of good eyes
and legs hunting meteorites for him.....that and in a display case, the
NWA's look a whole bunch like a meteorite should to any non meteorite
collector....they look collected. Besides, how you going to teach a
man with a dozen wives and 100 camels how to use a GPS before he can
sell his "black like the desert night" rocks that can have value, like
more camels and wives?
Best,
Dave F.

Edward Hodges wrote:

> While at Tucson I noticed a huge number of unclassified NWA's for
> sale. Some lots were going for as little as $0.35 a gram. I noticed
> many people buying unclassified specimens. To me an unclassified
> meteorite is just a rock, basicilly worthless. Of course it is a
> meteorite, and it might even be a fairly rare one at that. Still, it
> is of no scientific importance yet. Meteorite values are determined by
> weight, classification,fusion crust,orientation, and special
> circumstances (e.g. one killed a dog, or cow), sometimes the odd shape
> may up the value, etc..What does an unclassified meteorite's have
> going for it other than fusion crust and weight? So, should I assume
> that the starting prices for an UNWA with complete crust is $0.35?
> Doesn't buying one of these help science, or hurt it? After all, we
> all know that they are haphazardly collected by poor nomads, probably
> their only source of income. Still more are collected by greedy
> westerners with dollar signs in their eyes. Almost no data is
> available on these rocks (e.g. locality, TKW, how many stones were
> found, etc.), most pairings are lost, and the strewnfields will never
> be studied. This for me defeats the whole purpose of collecting and
> studying meteorites. The data tells the story of the rock, which is
> the one of the most interesting parts. Am I the only one who thinks
> this? Does anyone else agree that by buying UNWA's that you are
> contributing to the dumbing down of the science involved, and feeding
> the ego's of greedy Westerners who are only interested in your dollar?
> I can already hear the responses this email will get. Just remember
> that is is better to appear a fool, than open one's mouth and remove
> all doubt. This is a serious topic that will eventually affect the
> whole science, and market of meteorites. If you want to slam what I
> have to say, that is your right. Just as it is you right to act civil,
> and stop to think for a moment.- Edward R. Hodges
>
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Received on Tue 12 Feb 2002 08:01:01 PM PST