[meteorite-list] Rocks On Your Head (Valera Meteorite)

From: meteorites_at_space.com <meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:49 2004
Message-ID: <20020119183045.17199.c000-h006.c000.wm_at_mail.space.com.criticalpath.net>

On Fri, 18 January 2002, Ron Baalke wrote

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4337489,00.html
>=20
> Rocks on your head=20
>=20
> Meteorite collectors are up in arms, and all over a
dead cow. Duncan Steel
> explains why.
>=20
> The Guardian (United Kingdom)
> January 17, 2002

<SNIP>

> Recently, Dr Ignacio Ferrin, an astronomer at the
University of the Andes,
> traced the witnesses and the pieces of the meteorite.
Bits have been
> distributed to professional meteoriticists. Much is
now in private hands,
> with collectors clamouring for good samples. You
could buy a slice
> (meteorites are often sawn into thin samples to be
displayed), a typical
> cost being about =A35 per gram. That gives the original
50 kg a value of
> =A3250,000.
>=20
> The value of the Valera meteorite comes from its new
reputation as a
> cow-killer, and samples come with a copy of an
affidavit vouching for its
> validity, signed by the medic involved, Dr Arginiro
Gonzales. Some meteorite
> enthusiasts observe that Valera's value has been
boosted 10-fold by the
> connection with the cow, and suggest that a different
type of killing might
> be being made.=20
>=20
> There is another twist. Many meteorite collectors
possess samples of a large
> fall found in the Atacama Desert in Chile, in 1861.
More than 80 fragments
> have been identified, many in recent years. These
weigh about four tons, so
> there has been plenty to go around. These pieces were
strewn around a dry
> riverbed called Vaca Muerta, giving this meteorite
its name.=20
>=20
> Vaca Muerta means "dead cow" in Spanish. So the
Venezuelan meteorite is
> being called Vaca Muerta II by some. The cynics see a
more invidious
> connection, thinking the name of the famous meteorite
from the Atacama may
> have provided the inspiration for a bit of
money-making further north in
> Latin America.
>=20
> -Duncan Steel teaches space and astronomy subjects at
the University of
> Salford.]
>=20


This last statement is absolutely preposterous!

I was there in Tucson when the very respectable
professor Dr, Ferrin brought it to Darryl Pitt and my
attention. I opened the box that it was transported
in, and examined it and correctly thought that it was
an L-6. But most interesting was the affidavit with
Argentina government seals that Dr. Ferrin had in his
possession. The story was well researched by this
professor, and I have no doubt about its veracity.

Also, just to put the "profit motive" to rest, without
disclosing the amount that the two specimen(s) were
obtained for, the professor did not realize $250,000--
in fact the selling price was in accordance with the
fair market value for an ordinary chondrite-- the L-6,
that it is.

The fact is that the seller did not "profit" from the
story. The story I have no doubt is true none the
less-- having met and spoke with the man that did the
research.

Steve Schoner.
http://www.geocities.com/american_meteorite_survey

P. S. If others profited by the story afterwards, so be
it. But let not profiteering discredit the story of
this meteorite having squashed a cow, as the one that
did the research and brought this meteorite and the
story to the world's attention did not excessivly
profit by it.=20=20
=0D
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Received on Sat 19 Jan 2002 09:30:43 PM PST