[meteorite-list] Opinion of Current Trends in Meteorite Prices

From: Michael Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:48:56 2004
Message-ID: <3B96CF6C.501D_at_home.com>

Hi Rob & Mark,
        While I agree with most of what Rob wrote, Tagish Lake is
a dangerous one, since there SHOULD be and could, in the
future be, much more available. Certainly, for now, it IS
very limited in availability.
        Rob, one of the reasons Brahin is so cheap is the same
reason Sikhote-Alins have fallen so dramatically - the
free enterprize system cutting loose in Russia has resulted
in a FLOOD of material - that combined with NWA/Saharan
material - INCLUDING the "invasion" of US dealers, such as
Dean Bessey, Mike Farmer, Michael Cottingham, Jim Strope,
etc, have NOT kept any secrets about actual origin OR tried
to keep prices high - an even DEEPER cut in African prices
resulted AND a slew of SNCs & Lunars combined to make
a MAJOR shift in much of the prices in the marketplace - HOWEVER, one of
the major factors to really push prices
down accross the board has been a stock market that makes
buyers believe they have "lost money" - which, of course,
only happens IF they sell while the prices are still low - still,
it creats a sense of lack or "poverty." Combine that with
55 thousand new "meteorite dealers" (ok, I exagerate a little)
and you have some "dealers" trying to under bid others
price wise - and boy, do you ever have a "buyers' market!"
        How long Africa will continue to produce is uncertain.
What IS certain is that it IS limited - 6 months, 3 years, who
knows? BUT, this selling rocks to the forigners is a very recent
development and before long every square mile of Northern
Africa will have been harvested by the nomads - THEN there
will be a dramatic shift. The big question is WHEN.
        Now, there ARE, as you mentioned, Rob, most definately
certain meteorites than can ONLY grow more expensive. They
include, but are in no way limited to:
- Witnessed falls, especially ones with low TKW.
- Witnessed falls with historical significance
- Witnessed falls that hit man made objects, animals or even people.
- "Classic" meteorites that have been or are near exhaustion:
        IE: Canyon Diablo, and now moving very quickly in that
direction, Gibeon.
        So, Mark, if you are wanting to buy something that is close
to guarenteed not to decrease in value, any of the above should
do.
        I am producing over a dozen sets of "Hammers" - meteorites
that have "nailed" something - such as Peekskill, Claxton, New Concord,
Sylacauga, Cannon City, Barwell, etc. (about 17 or 18
different falls in all - & yes, has to include the ol' Nakla, even
though that is one of the very few "flakes" in the set - another
is Cannon City, which I have ONLY seen in sand sized "fagments").
        Each set will come with a booklet describing
each fall and with many different photos, as well. They will be in
a display set of micros, most of which will be 1/2 to 2 grams in
size. I am trying to get them ready for Denver, but cutting and
professional quality labels & mounting takes a bit of time.
        If you want to jump on something fast - I would drop every
extra penny in Valera, which killed a cow and is selling for the
absolutely unbelievable price of $4 per gram! (no, I don't have
any for sale - this is not a "plug").
        And for the really cinical, no, I am not "pushing" the value of
falls that hit objects because I am selling them - It is exactly the
opposit, I am selling them because they hit objects and fascinate
me, personally!
        Mark, for further commentary on the market please see
Voyage! magazine - in my column, "METEORITE MARKET TRENDS"
I discuss these issue at length in the most recent issue.
        Best wishes, Michael
        

-- 
Heck is where people go who don't believe in gosh.
--
Michael Blood Meteorites for sale at:
http://www.meteorite.com/Michael_Blood/catalog.htm

Received on Wed 05 Sep 2001 09:20:45 PM PDT