[meteorite-list] Ad New Canadian Meteorite for sale

[MeteorHntr at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/6/2008 5:01:12 P.M. Central Standard Time,  
meteoriteguy at yahoo.com writes:
I highly doubt it will be in Tucson, if it is  then it is illegal, and I 
would not touch it. India doesnt scare me much, but  Canada sent people to Tokyo 
two years back to look for fossils. They don't play  games. 
I doubt the meteorite will oxidize much, at these temps, there is no  more 
liquid water so they should be perfectly preserved for the most  part.
Michael Farmer
***********
 
All,

Richard Herd, from the Canadian National Collection has been known  in years 
past for going around to all of the meteorite dealer's rooms in Tucson  
looking for illegally exported Canadian Meteorites.  

I don't think  he has ever found any, and if he did, I am not sure what legal 
recourse could be  taken. But I doubt he would be taking the time to look if 
there wasn't something  they could do if he got lucky.  

If there is anything for sale in Tucson, it will probably be under the  
tightest of secrecy, and I doubt any dealer would offer a C.O.A. specimen ID  card 
with them, thus the provenance would be lost, and you might as well be  buying 
a Juanchenge.

Now, you might find some local Canadians finders,  who might find it 
worthwhile to smuggle specimens over the border who might  show up in Tucson, eh?  
 
Some deals out of the trunk of a rental car might go down in the parking  
lots, since someone not in the business, without a reputation to risk, might  
want to dump some cheap for some fast cash.   But don't expect any in  Michael 
Blood's auction.

Again, with no documentation, and no export  permits, I doubt many collectors 
will want to pay even 20% of a legit retail  value.  If they are going to be 
selling for $10/g later, MAYBE someone  would pay $2/g for illegal booty, but 
I doubt it.  Why?  
 
Unless one has a morbid desire to "stick it" to the Canadians, there would  
be little satisfaction since one couldn't tell anyone about it.  
 
OK, on second thought, there might be a few people who would want to "stick  
it to the Canadians" so maybe $3/g might be possible in the back alley's of 
the  wild west of Tucson... :-)

However, we are maybe more likely to see  the new Canadian rocks being sold 
as some totally other fall.   
 
What if all of a sudden we see (North North American) NNA 001 and NNA 002  
specimens submitted for classification with vague find  coordinates???   I think 
the Nomenclature Committee is on record as  saying they are NOT in the 
business to police the various nation's meteorite  laws.  It will be interesting if 
the Canadians would have more clout in  making a case than the Algerian or 
Libyan's have been able to in getting that  policy changed.

I think the legal export papers, showing legal title,  will add a substantial 
value to the rocks if and when they are allowed  to come out.  

Steve Arnold #1
www.SteveArnoldMeteorites.com 
 
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