[meteorite-list] Don't delay, order today! - Suspect Auction-Suspect ID@!

From: Michael Murray <mmurray_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 20:08:19 -0600
Message-ID: <BF397ABA-BF18-4337-8E44-4CB121EC3CE9_at_montrose.net>

I don't use ebay (I'm too stupid to figure it all out) so I have to
ask, is this auction over? Says Mar 31. Or? I would have thought
this one to go for more than the starting bid figure.
Mike
On Mar 31, 2008, at 10:35 PM, Jason Utas wrote:
> I said:
>
>> The only slag that I've known to contain olivine was Seymchan, and
>> there's some debate as to whether that was actually waste, or, in
>> fact, a synthetic meteorite look-alike meant to confuse buyers.
>> The fact that the stone contains olivine means that either:
>
> *Not "Seymchan," but rather "Shirokovsky."
>
> On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 9:31 PM, Jason Utas
> <meteoritekid at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello Elton, All,
>> Hardly; I just think it's stupid to rule any sample out completely
>> without a lab analysis.
>> There's no single feature on the stone being auctioned that would
>> suggest that it is not, in fact, a fresh mesosiderite individual, and
>> seeing as I am as qualified as you, if not better, to tell, I don't
>> see how you can realistically argue.
>> ...Or am I right:
>>
>> http://www.meteoriteguy.com/catalog/dong-ujimqin/520.9.htm
>>
>> The only slag that I've known to contain olivine was Seymchan, and
>> there's some debate as to whether that was actually waste, or, in
>> fact, a synthetic meteorite look-alike meant to confuse buyers.
>> The fact that the stone contains olivine means that either:
>>
>> 1) Someone went out of their way to purchase pieces of yellowish
>> olivine, and put it in some slag to fool potential buyers.
>> Possible I
>> suppose, but this seems unlikely.
>>
>> 2) A synthetic replacement such as glass could have been used, but
>> the
>> crystals pictured were not of a typical bottle colour, so some
>> special
>> source must have been used...or maybe they mixed brown and green?
>> Either way, you're not looking at the typical scammer if they did
>> take
>> the trouble to figure out the colour that the olivine should have
>> been. Furthermore, if they'd taken the time/trouble to figure out as
>> much about meteorites, they would likely have figured out that their
>> stone wouldn't sell on ebay as-listed. But I might be overestimating
>> the seller. Or maybe slag typically contains large yellow-orange
>> crystals...no.
>>
>> 3) (Your suggestion here.)
>>
>> 4) It is a meteorite.
>>
>> Honestly, Elton, have a look at that picture for yourself. The
>> stones
>> are very similar in texture, though the ebay stone appears as bit
>> more
>> oddly shaped. That said, the stone pictured on Michael Farmer's page
>> is a fragment, and the stone on ebay appeared to be a complete,
>> ablated individual. I assume that ablation would sculpt such a
>> heterogeneous stone admirably.
>> Jason
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 8:10 PM, Mr EMan <mstreman53 at yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>> Ha ha Funny... the Rorschach-Shroom Techinque of meteorite
>>> identification...Down to confirming orange olivine crystals-- in a
>>> mesosiderite no less--and fresh? It is fresh from the slag pile!
>>>
>>> I've got petrified frog poop that looks more like a meteorite then
>>> this.
>>>
>>> Pleeease...this is an early April One-0 post, Right?
>>>
>>> Eman
>>> --- Jason Utas <meteoritekid at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Olah All,
>>>> Looks like a fresh mesosiderite. I know, the shape is odd - but
>>>> have
>>>> a look at fresh pieces of that Chinese mesosiderite fall Dong Umjim
>>>> Qui...or however it's spelled...they look rather similar to this,
>>>> though by the look of the orange crystals clearly visible on the
>>>> surface of this stone, this one has more olivine in it.
>>>
>>>
>>>> That said, it could also be an unusual piece of slag,<==gudanzer
>>>
>>> and I don't
>>>> feel like betting $1k on such a strange piece from a questionable
>>>> location...if I had more money, I might think otherwise.
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Jason
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 8:18 AM, Michael Murray
>>>> <mmurray at montrose.net> wrote:
>>> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120236513887
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>
>>
> ______________________________________________
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Tue 01 Apr 2008 10:08:19 PM PDT