[meteorite-list] Ungrouped Achondrite Prices (NWA 7325 and others)

[Michael Farmer]

thanks Carl, good synopsis. 

Michael Farmer

Sent from my iPad

> On Mar 12, 2014, at 9:06 PM, Carl Agee <agee at unm.edu> wrote:
> 
> Hi Mike and All:
> 
> "Achondrite-ung" one of my favorite things! Also the enigmatic
> groupings like ACA, LOD, WIN, BRAC, URE, fascinating! From what I have
> seen and heard about NWA 7325 -- simply amazing. The problem has
> nothing to do with these wonderful achondrites, the problem is our
> ignorance of their possible parent bodies. Martian and lunar
> meteorites are of the highest scientific value, not because they are
> better meteorites, but because we know enough about their parent
> bodies to make the meteorite - parent body connection and thereby they
> become the equivalent of geological sample returns. If NASA hadn't
> sent missions to the Moon or Mars we would most likely not recognize
> these meteorites as lunar and Martian. So, the problem with Mercurian
> meteorites is not  whether they do or don't exist, the problem is our
> fragmentary understanding of the planet Mercury and our inability, at
> this time, to make the parent body - meteorite connection. Yes,
> Mercury Messenger has given us new insight into the make up of the
> Mercurian crust, but the data are simply still not good enough to be
> useful for unequivocal meteorite matching. So even if we have a
> meteorite from Mercury somewhere in the world's collections right now,
> we won't know it until Mercury is better known. Part of the problem is
> that Mercury possesses no true atmosphere. Remember, the strongest
> evidence for martian meteorites being from Mars is trapped martian
> atmospheric gases in the meteorites -- the ultimate fingerprint.
> Interestingly, we may have a better shot at recognizing a meteorite
> from Venus, since the Venusian atmosphere has been geochemically and
> isotopically measured by NASA missions and spectroscopically from
> Earth. For example, trapped Venusian atmosphere should have a
> gigantically large ratio of deuterium to hydrogen. In the meantime,
> there are other ways to think about parent bodies of achondrites --
> identifying their meteoritic precursor material. For example, I
> recently worked on achondrite-ung NWA 8186 that appears to be the
> first example of an achondrite that is a very good match for having a
> CK-chondrite precursor -- in other words, take a CK parent body,
> igneously melt it, and the product is achondrite-ung NWA 8186. Hey,
> who said the list was boring? Mike, great discussion topic!
> 
> Carl Agee
> 
> *************************************
> Carl B. Agee
> Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics
> Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences
> MSC03 2050
> University of New Mexico
> Albuquerque NM 87131-1126
> 
> Tel: (505) 750-7172
> Fax: (505) 277-3577
> Email: agee at unm.edu
> http://meteorite.unm.edu/people/carl_agee/
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Mar 12, 2014 at 6:29 PM, Galactic Stone & Ironworks
> <meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Listees,
>> 
>> Can someone elaborate on why NWA 7325 and it's possible pairings are
>> selling for $10,000/g in some cases?  There is speculation that it
>> originated from Mercury, but that is only speculation at this point.
>> One can speculate anything.  Heck, it might be from Alpha Centauri.
>> 
>> There are 60 other ungrouped achondrites and some of them have very
>> unusual characteristics.  Why is NWA 7325 priced so high above the
>> others?  The low-TKW does not explain the price (maybe in small part),
>> given the fact that pairings appear to be surfacing.
>> 
>> This is not a criticism of any dealer or dealers.  I am just curious
>> how people have arrived at this price.
>> 
>> Best regards,
>> 
>> MikeG
>> 
>> 
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