[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Idle ramblings from Alaska

I've been pondering all this back and forth about Monohans, Canadian
meteorite laws, The Smithsonian, Nininger, etc. etc.  It seems that most
members of the list during this discussion and others in the past seem
genuinely concerned about the interest of both the scientific community and
the community of dealers/collectors with regard to new meteorite finds and
falls.

Wouldn't it make sense to have a truly cooperative arrangement whereby the
Smithsonian gets x% and the finder gets x%?  It would probably increase the
available material for everyone.  And it would also increase the likelihood
of more accurate reporting by finders, don't you think?  I wonder how many
"No, I uh found it in my uncle's field!  Really!"'s there are out there. 
There may even be strewnfields that have gone unexplored because someone
found one stone and reported an incorrect location.  I tend to believe that
people would rather be honest than not (maybe I'm hopelessly naive!), but
people are also posessive when it comes to "treasure" of any kind, so why
not provide a way that everyone can benefit?

Are there any countries that have such rules governing meteorite recovery? 
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

By the way, suppose I found a meteorite on an iceburg up here?  What
THEN?!? 

Regards to all,
Jeanne


Men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in 
doing good to their fellow creatures.
     -Cicero
Follow-Ups: