[meteorite-list] Fun questions, or public FAQs

[Don Merchant]

Hi List. One of the most difficult questions (ends up a 2 part question) is 
"how do you know that these are REAL METEORITES".....I explain that I only 
deal with the top 10 or so Renown Dealers/Collectors in  the world. This 
leads to the 2nd part question..."How do you know these Dealers/Collectors 
are selling that particular type Meteorite" Hmmmmm.......this has not been 
an easy question to answer. Though most will supply you with an 
identification card most do not have an official COA (Certificate of 
Authenticity) I know that Rob Elliot always supplied a nice looking COA 
which helped back-up the meteorite sale as authentic. I usually would reply 
to those asking me if the Dealers I buy from are really selling legit 
meteorites by saying..."These Dealers (Most of them) send a piece of the 
meteorite they find to a Laboratory to be analyzed and confirmed before 
selling them" Still a very hard question to answer. Anyone else run into 
this question? How do you answer it to your admirers of your collection?
Sincerely
Don Merchant
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "JoshuaTreeMuseum" <joshuatreemuseum at embarqmail.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:43 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Fun questions, or public FAQs


> Hello and Happy New Year to Al, Mark, and the List:
>
> A related question I get a lot is when people see meteorite spheres, they 
> always want to know if they fell that way and how can meteorites be 
> perfectly round.  People also are confused about meteors from comets and 
> meteors from the asteroid belt.  They always want to know how many stones 
> make it to Earth from the meteor showers.  People also comment a lot about 
> how hot meteorites must be when they make it to Earth.  They're shocked 
> when I tell them they are more likely to be cold.
>
> Phil Whitmer
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