[meteorite-list] Speck Issues - Reply to this subject

From: Don Merchant <dmerchan_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 19:42:46 -0500
Message-ID: <000f01c87d90$aad2e650$6401a8c0_at_donaldmerchant>

Hi List. My thoughts on specks with a little funny story about them. I
realize not every collector out that has unlimited funds and so many
collectors with budgets and families alike have just so much to spend on
their treasured specimens. Lets face it meteorite collecting can be very
addicting and can get many collectors in a financial bind if not careful,
much like the out of control compulsive gambler so to speak. With so many
available meteorites to choose from and in many different sizes and weights
as well as new finds every year, this can make any collector especially the
novice, feel like a kid walking into a candy store for the first time! I
think it is fantastic that dealers like Mike Farmer, Greg Hupe, Mike
Cottingham, Dean Bessy and others can offer small milligram size meteorites
for what I feel is the majority of collectors with budgets out there. I take
my hat off to these men as they have open up a new world to meteorites and
collecting that 10 years or so ago was unheard of. Specks......I agree with
others that to own a piece of a super rare hard to acquire meteorite
especially under a budget that sometimes that speck in one's collection can
look like a boulder! Is that Speck really the type of meteorite that was
said it is? I always felt that buying from top name dealers was the safest
way to go because as Mike Farmer said money is not the issue. When your at
that level of the game as a dealer, selling false type specks is not even in
ones vocabulary. There will always be cutting losses when cutting meteorites
Period. So why not sell those cutting losses to collectors who can't afford
say the 1/4-3/4 gram of ultra rare sub type of whatever meteorite. Not
everyone can own a 1943 copper penny but give me a steel 1943 penny to put
in my collection and I'm happy. I have made a habit over the years of only
buying from a certain group of dealers and if I run into something that
catches my eye from a non-regular dealer I will do my homework before I buy.
Most specks will never get that huge price tag. It is true in meteorites
that bigger is better or simply put you get what you pay for. I prefer to
say I buy what I can reasonably afford. Forgive me List but I always look at
a piece of meteorite I buy as what I would be able to get back on it for
resale. I say this because of my last statement "bigger is better" and maybe
I cannot afford that 1/2 gram of rare meteorite today but I will buy a 1/4
gram of it and then later catch a deal on that 1/2 gram and sell my 1/4 gram
to "step up" so to speak. Ok I'm rambling on. My speck story.....I remember
years ago when I started out collecting meteorites and of course with family
and all, I was under a microscope watched eye budget by my wife! I really
wanted a Martian meteorite so I could brag to myself and friends that I had
an actual piece of stone from the Planet Mars. I'll never forget when my
speck came in the mail, of course bought from a famous well known dealer (I
did my homework) and I could hardly contain my self as I opened up the
package! I don't know about many of you List members out there but I have
this habit of removing the specimen from the gem case into my own brand new
gem case, gem jar whatever you want to call it and then into my collection
cabinet. Well, I am in my office and all ready to make this delicate surgeon
type transfer. I have gone to great lengths to make sure all goes smoothly.
No FANS are on, door in office is closed, 1,000,000 candle light of light
power is on! My first though looking into the gem jar was, DAMN that sure is
a speck!! I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed BUT, I had a piece of
MARS right in front of me and so I'm easily pleased! I continue on to making
the transfer by ever so gently opening up the gem jar cap. BOING!!!!!!!!!!!!
That #%$!&%#$#%!#^!%$# speck sprung out of that DAMN gem jar like a Martian
on a Mission back to MARS! The fibers on the felt pad actually acted as a
spring board when I relieved the pressure of the gem case cap! The speck
fell on the thick carpet below (I think) which was my next problem and
mistake. I searched for that DAMN speck for over an hour! It NEVER made it
to my collection! I couldn't believe that I could be more disappointed then
when I first saw the speck in the gem jar as I was on my hands and knees
searching for it on/in the carpet, but I was! That's when I knew I loved
meteorite collecting and never looked back or for that matter never looked
for that speck again. Since then I have my own scale of size minimum for
meteorite purchases. I remember using a pencil to part the carpet fibers
looking for this speck. I was using the eraser end. The eraser fell out of
the pencil and I had no problem finding the eraser. So I never buy anything
smaller then an eraser size meteorite specimen, no matter how rare. I will
save up till I can. I have never forgotten the feeling of loss that day,
even for a speck. That speck taught me something that day! It taught me to
get rid of my wife because I could of avoided that DAMN disappointing day if
I had spent more on a bigger piece!!
Sincerely
Don Merchant
IMCA #0960
Received on Mon 03 Mar 2008 07:42:46 PM PST