[meteorite-list] Ad ebay meteorites

[Peanut ..]

Hello List,

Mike Farmer said,

"Again, if that is to be the case, then I want EVERYONE to immediately STOP
using my number, NWA 801, and NWA 1929, and others."

- - - NO, Snap out of it! It's not going to happen…. People are still going 
to use these numbers which have been assigned to these particular 
meteorites. Either as in a description about the meteorite or as a reference 
to the meteorite.

"Those are my numbers for specific pieces, and suddenly there are hundreds 
of
pieces of NWA 1929 on eBay and at shows, many uncut, and I would like to
know how people think they are paired with my meteorite?"

- - - Are these numbers actually his?  I can understand his concern with 
uncut pieces without a reference from which they were purchased, but Adam 
NEVER made a reference to any numbers belonging to him personally, but to a 
particular meteorite or group of meteorites. Also, according to my 
understanding, if the numbers were approved "the name will be 
internationally accepted" and now he is saying no one can use them because 
they are his…. Right!

Pelé Pierre-Marie said,

"why don't we create a catalog of meteorites with official rates (like you 
can find for stamps or coins) ?"

…I am in favor of a modified version of this, It's a great idea and it works 
for other hobbies such as Coins, Stamps, Tokens and a bunch of others.


"Prices of each popular meteorite should be discussed by the whole meteorite 
community on Meteorite List so
that we don't kill the market. Prices would be the average price of all 
prices indicated for each meteorite."

…Yes & No….Prices and format should be discussed by the entire meteorite 
community. In actually trying to define "Meteorite Community" I'm saying 
everyone should be able to cast a vote (Sorry!…) or have a say in 
this who has any actual concern. I.e., Dealers (Any size), Collectors, 
Museums, Clubs, Labs, Universities & Colleges, etc. Maybe even a website 
could be created to allow everyone to enter his or her opinion.

…….As far as the list….Well, there can't even be an agreement on how to 
actually use these numbers much less agreeing on a price. Discussion is fine 
but not a decision. The final price decision should be made by one entity.  
A company or organization or generally accepted text created or expanded on 
for this purpose. Such as IMCA, METSOC, Etc, Etc, Etc. Coins have Krause as 
their biggie, Stamps have Scott, Ancient Coins have Sear. Personally, I 
think the book Meteorites A to Z could expand and fulfill this role!

…….You won't kill the market, you may lower or raise the market though. Only 
the interest or lack of from the populace will actually kill the market.

"For NWA or Sahara, it's harder as there are many pairings and all pairings 
are not known but on Sahara or NWA authenticated by the NomCom or a 
laboratory, the rates could be discussed."

…….Pairings are irrelevant. As Adam pointed out, the pairing should have a 
completely different number assigned and that number should be used (Unless 
it belongs to Farmer...Sorry Mike, I had to!). Also another thought would be 
to go a different route and use variants. They do this in the "Coin & Stamp 
World" (Don't have meteorites from there….Sorry again!) A penny from 1909 is 
not finite. There is 1909S, 1909VDB, 1909S VDB, Proof, Uncirculated, 
Specimen, Etc…. So although NWA 9948 is paired to NWA 59196, it's still NWA 
9948. If the paring can be authenticated, which is what I think Mike's point 
was, then the paring probably should be noted.

"I hope everyone follows my thoughts. I'm ready to build such a paper book 
if everyone (at least every meteorite dealer) works on it ..."

…….We need to talk!

"1 .I think ebay buyers should add systematically (at
least for the NWAs, Sahara serie...) the Meteoritical
Bulletin Abstract of the NWA where is indicated the
official tkw, finder or buyer, some information about
the meteorite and where the buyer on ebay bought the
sample (for example : bought from Adam Hupe) so that
we can track down the meteorite sample.

2. Build a giant database on the web where every
seller records its sales. That would be like a museum
inventory. Each fragment of each NWA would be
numbered, described and recorded and when sold to
someone else the file would be updated so that
everyone knows from whom comes the sample and where it
was sent. But it's a crazy project maybe. And
everyone should work on it."

…….Both violate privacy, should anyone want it, but then why would you want 
their meteorites?

Adam said,

"NWA1929 was revised because the three largest stones were left behind and 
not reported, all from the same batch. NAU was provided a type sample of 
each piece that was left behind and an accurate TKW was reported while under 
provisional status"

…….So what are you saying exactly? Should the 3 remaining stones be paired 
or not. True, they were obtained at a later time than the "Original" NWA 
1929, but if they were confirmed to be from the same batch, then why 
couldn't NAU also instill the name NWA 1929 on the 3 remaining stones as 
well. I'm a little fuzzy on this part. Not picking, I'm just not sure!

Rob said,

……."paired with NWA numbers pending" for Adam/Greg's

This is the perfect CYA measure and I feel this is a great way to honestly 
go about dealing with these particular pieces.



And that's all I have to say about that...

Be Well,
CJ Lebel
IMCA# 3432
www.cjsmeteorites.com