[meteorite-list] The Trials and Tribulations in Dealing with Lando wners

[Shawn Alan]

Hello Martin and Listers,

Martin I liked a couple points you brought up in this post and liked the one about institutions and collectors......

"and there STILL some curators exist who seriously state, that commercial 
trade and private hunting/collecting would cause damage to science"

I feel that with some institutions leading by this mind set can have a negative effect on the continuation with meteoritic science. I think the dealer,hunter,collector,reseller, scientist all have a common goal and is to continue the development of meteoritic awareness, and understanding of science. Without one of these elements, the hopes and dreams of meteoritic science could be halted like how it can been seen in Australia, where science makes it a priority to make meteorites property of the state. By institutionalizing a stance on science can have a irreparable consequence on the further development of understanding where we came from through meteorites by halting hunting and only hindering the greater understanding of science instutionalization.

Some can speculate that dealers,hunters,collectors make it difficult for institutions to acquire meteorites. However these institutions keep forgetting that they have a great amount of meteorites at there disposal to conduct trades, exchanges with people to gain more meteorites in a given collection. A good example would be the Murry or Murchison meteorite fall, the Smithsonian has over 5000 grams of those two meteorites, and if some reason they dont have a meteorite for the collection and was presented an opportunity for a trade, one could do so by the great amount of meteorites the Smithsonian has. 

To disengage with all aspects for dealing and collecting meteorites on any level can cause discomfort in the meteoritic science section. My understand is not to hinder but to allow everyone to have the equal opportunity to have and gain accesses to meteorites. Why hold back, I feel by sharing and trading between scientist/collectors/dealers can pave a new direction in meteorites science, especially when budgets keep getting cut. We have to come together and work together to persevere meteorites and their understanding they present to science and continue the understanding where we came from through meteorites.
 
Shawn Alan
IMCA 1633
eBaystore
http://shop.ebay.com/photophlow/m.html








[meteorite-list] The Trials and Tribulations in Dealing with Lando wners
Martin Altmann altmann at meteorite-martin.de 
Mon Feb 21 21:10:15 EST 2011 

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Hi Mike, 

I changed my pills. And saw how stupid I am. (o.k. that isn't really new). 

We simply have to switch the perspective! 

10 years ago, if a dealer sold 1 gram of Moon in a month and nothing else, 
than he had a good life, 
and when he did so 15 years ago, a very very good one. 
Or 10grams of a howardite per month, and his children were proud on their 
daddy. 

Today 10g Howardite bring you 100 lousy bucks and 1g Moon 1000$ without 
costs yet and before taxes. 

Nothing more to say about the good ol'times... 

...and there STILL some curators exist who seriously state, that commercial 
trade and private hunting/collecting would cause damage to science 

and that especially in these very times they wouldn't be able to compete 
anymore because of the privateers making meteorites so unaffordable for 
them. 

Unbelievable - but you can read that everywhere. 
And that makes any discussion so difficult, because you'd have to start at 
zero, at the basics with them. 

(And I thought natural science would have to do something with exact figures 
and numbers :-) 

And I bet a Martian main mass, that after they have brought the find rates 
so down with their prohibition, 
that meteorites will cost then 10, 20, 30 times more than today, 
that they will then again pass the buck to the dealers/hunters/collectors 
making them responsible for the horrible prices. You'll see! 

Good Night! 
Martin 


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- 
Von: Michael Gilmer [mailto:meteoritemike at gmail.com] 
Gesendet: Dienstag, 22. Februar 2011 01:35 
An: Martin Altmann 
Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com 
Betreff: Re: [meteorite-list] The Trials and Tribulations in Dealing with 
Lando wners 

Hi Martin, Steve and List, 

Martin said - "This we will hear in a hundred-voiced chorus in 10 
years from now about the 
period of 2000-2010, the REAL golden times of meteoritics..." 

So true. And this illustrates the gap (Grand Canyon sometimes) 
between the pre-NWA collectors and the newer class of collectors who 
have graduated from NWA university. 

As a meteorite collector, my third purchase was a lunar. I bought a 
micro crumb of NWA 3163 for the amazing sum of $4. How many 
collectors from the "golden age" had a lunar in their hands within 
weeks of beginning to collect? 

There is always a certain romanticism for days gone by and the 
meteorite world is not immune to that same nostalgia. Older things 
from older times are always somehow better than the same thing that 
appeared yesterday. I feel that way when I hear the music kids are 
listening to today. Surely Led Zeppelin is better than Justin Bieber 
right? Surely a classic Shelby Cobra is better than a 2010 Dodge 
Charger? And Rocket Richard's goals were prettier and more skillful 
than those of Sidney Crosby or Steven Stamkos, right? 

I won't argue against anything Steve said in his reply about 
meteorites and the market. Those were indeed heady times and I wish I 
could have experienced them - to buy specimens from David New via 
telephone. But, I am fully cognizant that we are living in the 
greatest age of meteorites ever. Only in the last 10-15 years has the 
internet, social networking, email, and the hot deserts combined to 
make a perfect storm for collectors. Ordering meteorites today is 
like ordering Chinese take-out from the menu - 2 howardites, a 
brachinite, an olivine diogenite, a Martian, and a side order of fried 
rice please! 

Many years from now, the new collectors will look back on the NWA Gold 
Rush and genuinely pine for the old days. Today, we do it because 
it's expected and it sounds good. 

Best regards, 

MikeG 




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