[meteorite-list] Ethics question?

[Peter Davidson]

Richard, Bill, Barrett and others

I agree with Brian Cox in that it is important when repairing specimens
to ensure that it is clear that this has been repaired and that it is
not being passed off as anything otherwise. Artefacts are often repaired
when there is sufficient material remaining, or if it will add to the
scientific or academic value of the object. But it is usually made very
obvious that it has been repaired.

Mineral specimens do get damaged and repairs are a day-to-day job for
our conservators. These are done as invisibly as possible, but the
repair is noted in detail on the specimen label. I guess it is up to the
owner to decide what to do. Without seeing the pieces it is difficult to
give you anything other than general advice.

Cheers

Peter Davidson
Curator of Minerals
 
Department of Natural Sciences
National Museums Collection Centre
242 West Granton Road
Edinburgh  EH5 1JA
Scotland
Tel: 00 44 131 247 4283
E-mail: p.davidson at nms.ac.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Brian
Cox
Sent: 21 March 2011 10:31
To: Meteorite-list
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ethics question?

Richard, Bill, Barrett and List,

Personally if a meteorite were glued together I'd want to know, but I'm 
positive I could tell it were glued together. Now, to be honest with
you, 
unless the person was an expert at gluing meteorites, I'm sure most
people 
could tell it was glued, I would think. If you had a great deal of 
experience at gluing Native American or Pre-Columbian artifacts and or
stone 
or metal objects together most people could tell that also, and in any
case 
you should always advise someone it's glued if you were selling it.

I would think most people selling their meteorites at that point would
sell 
them separately and they would probably make more money selling the
separate 
pieces than as a whole. As you know every year the specimens are getting

smaller and smaller, and then you're down to micro-mounts and dust. I 
recently bought a decent crumb, about 144 mg of New Concord that I can
see 
and a 19 mg Weston, which is just too small honestly for me, and I'd
rather 
have a 1 gram piece but none were available. We all know dealers buy 
meteorites and break them down to smaller and smaller specimens and they

make more money per specimen that way, since it's more money per mg or
gram. 
This is also helpful to beginners or those not wanting to spend a great
deal 
of money and for those who want to have a specific meteorite in their 
collection and the small specimens do allow this.

I recently bought eleven very nice meteorites ( 9 separate names) and
there 
were 2 pieces of Agoult that fit together that were sold separately, a
1.6 
gm and 1 gram piece. I was happy with them, and the seller made more
money 
probably than if they hadn't been broken and sold as a 2.6 gram
specimen. I 
also bought his 2 Bruderheim pieces, a 9.7 gm and a 1.0 gm piece that
fit 
together like a puzzle. I'm happy, and they look nice, and if I sell
them 
I'll probably sell them separately too since again if they broke 
accidentally or were broken to sell separately and to make more money, 
either way is fine. I bought them and someone else will also. Honesty is
the 
best policy.

Take care and may a large Lunar or Martian Meteorite fall into your yard

today.

Brian 

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