[meteorite-list] Shirokovsky

[Pete Pete]

With this crap currently selling for a minimum $1.00 US per gram, no doubt the culprit(s) are wondering which engine block to melt next.

 

In this case, crime seems to pay.

 

Cheers,

Pete
 


> From: lintonius at earthlink.net
> To: mexicodoug at aim.com
> Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:46:21 -0700
> CC: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Shirokovsky
> 
> Greetings listoids.
> Doug, I believe you've introduced an important distinction, upon which I've 
> been intending on opining. Like you said, "a meteorwrong by most 
> definitions is *natural* material than can be confused with an authentic 
> meteorite out in the field." Shirokovsky, on the other hand, was a 
> deliberate fake. A man-made concoction for the sole purpose of fraud. (Based 
> on what I've read here.) I can understand the interest in a legitimate 
> meteorwrong - I bought a piece of Mendota myself - but, in my opinion, 
> Shirokovsky does not deserve to be in that category. I would be no more 
> likely to purchase a sample, than to intentionally purchase counterfeit 
> currency. It has about the same worth.
> But while I have to agree with Adam's point of view on this, I can somewhat 
> understand the opposing views. Respect them, anyway. Interestingly though, 
> most all of those in favor of collecting it, already have it in their 
> collections. A case of "sour grapes", in reverse? ;^)
> Just my two cents. Actual value may vary.
> Linton
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "MexicoDoug" <mexicodoug at aim.com>
> To: <raremeteorites at yahoo.com>; <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 6:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Shirokovsky
> 
> 
> > Adam wrote:
> >
> > "I see Shirokovsky as being off topic"
> >
> > I agree and would keep my mouth shut iof I thought it were an innocent 
> > scam that was over and reparations made.
> >
> > Since I agree with Adam as such this will be my only post, since what is 
> > on topic, interestingly, is clarifying that it is not a 
> > eteorwrong*.. - a meteorwrong by most definitions is natural material 
> > than can be confused with an authentic meteorite out in the field. This 
> > is not that case, this is the case of the apple colored moldavites faked 
> > on eBay. This is a *PSEUDOMETEORITE* and that term is doing it a favor, 
> > and we should IMO all be very clear about that for the mutual benefit of 
> > all of our collections and future material that could enter them.
> >
> > Shirokovsky may elicit the Pavlovian Dogs salivation in collectors that 
> > haven't been soiled by it. You know - save that salivation for the real 
> > stuff, Shirokovsky isn't even in the category of a blow-up meteorite doll. 
> > There is nothing technologically interesting about Shirokovsky, the matrix 
> > is nothing better than you can find in a cheap faux bead shop, and why 
> > people think it would have an etch pattern is beyond me. The only reason 
> > to have it is because when you drive by an accident on the highway and see 
> > an accident with blood and guts, you have to stop and cause everyone else 
> > a traffic jam as you gawk. And then you have to tell everyone else, yes, 
> > look I have a piece of that corpse on the road, look at me!
> >
> > I wouldn't feel this way at all if the story were all closed and those who 
> > have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars (yes, the amount is correct) 
> > were ok and the crooks in jail. But the collective memory seems to mean 
> > nothing even if we can learn from our past. Everything would be cool in 
> > the collectible category if there were a fixed amount of Shirokovsky out 
> > there.
> >
> > It is not all accounted for and it gives someone else the idea of 
> > manufacturing other meteorites; why, instead of getting locked up for 
> > stealing from several collectors and causing all kinds of business 
> > heartache beyond the active imagination of many listmembers, the message 
> > is clear. Make a Shitpkovsky fake, if you get caught, be nowhere to be 
> > found and burn the people who trusted you, cause a great deal of 
> > pollutuion that everyone else has to clean up (the equivalent of the Exxon 
> > Valdez, and we all cleaned it up), and then appear 10 years later selling 
> > more of it like war memorabilia from the dark side and getting people to 
> > actually argue it is a good thing to have in collections.
> >
> > Huuumpt. I still remember being at a function 3 years ago where the big 
> > meteorite dealer insisted to an ignorant crowd that his many Shirokovsky 
> > pseudometeorites. He sold them for $25/g and many just three years ago 
> > painted me as someone who didn't know since he was the expert (ha).
> >
> > Here's what the serious problem is: the material was all controlled before 
> > by the dealer terrorists and collector rapists. If you bought a piece of 
> > this suckerite from one of the original good faith dealers, you did a fine 
> > thing to help bail them out and had the cute thing to discuss it in a 
> > charitable show and tell. But - Now assigning a collection value to new 
> > material all you are doing is having money chase the masses that were 
> > never cut. And as we all know, when money chases, money gets. And - 
> > guess where this new material is coming from?
> >
> > Kindest wishes
> > Doug
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Adam Hupe <raremeteorites at yahoo.com>
> > To: Adam <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> > Sent: Fri, Aug 19, 2011 5:38 pm
> > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Shirokovsky
> >
> >
> > I guess collecting artifacts has made me leery about fakes. Get caught 
> > with one
> > fake artifact and it will put your entire collection in question. It is 
> > best to
> > get artifacts papered and destroy any that have been "killed" by an 
> > independent
> > authenticator. I see Shirokovsky as being off topic since it is not a 
> > meteorite
> > and is was only produced in order to defraud honest collectors out of 
> > their hard
> > earned money.
> > If you want a piece of a recycled old Ford motor block in your collection, 
> > that
> > is your business. To me, it is garbage and so are the people who produced 
> > it!
> >
> > Adam
> > 
> 
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