[meteorite-list] Williamette Meteorite Goes On The Auction Block

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:02 2004
Message-ID: <200202081646.IAA11218_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/science/101317302414716177.xml

Fragments of space rock go on the block
RICHARD L. HILL
The Oregonian
February 8, 2002

The most famous -- and most controversial -- rock ever to plop into Oregon's
back yard is drawing widespread attention this week.

Two chips off the old block known as the Willamette Meteorite will go to the
highest bidders this Sunday in Tucson, Ariz., in what is billed as the
world's largest meteorite auction.

The smaller, half-inch-long, one-third-ounce rectangular piece of the
151/2-ton iron-nickel meteorite is expected to fetch about $750 to $950. The
larger specimen, nearly 6 inches long and weighing 3.4 ounces, is expected
to go for between $9,000 and $12,000. Even the lowest prices would mean the
rocks are worth many times their weight in gold.

The Macovich Collection of Meteorites in New York City, which describes
itself as "the largest collection of highly aesthetic iron meteorites in the
world," is selling more than 100 of its meteorites at the auction with
prices ranging from about $50 to $14,000. Darryl Pitt, the collection's
curator, said the auction is open to anyone. A Web site --
www.macovich.com/catalog.html -- is available for people to examine the
items and make bids this week.

Pitt said the Oregon meteorite fragments are drawing a lot of attention.
"It's one of the most beautiful and most storied meteorites in the world,"
he said of the Willamette Meteorite, on display at the American Museum of
Natural History in New York City. "Collectors have been vying for pieces of
it for quite some time, but there are very few specimens out there."

Pitt acquired the smaller piece about two months ago from the Museum of
Natural History in London and the larger one from the American Museum of
Natural History in New York City about four years ago. He said he swapped
meteorite specimens with the museums. "They had something I wanted, and I
had something they wanted," he said.

The curator also has three more pieces of the meteorite, including a jagged
28-pound end section that was sawed off along with the 6-inch slice at the
New York museum about five years ago.

After the intact meteorite arrived at the museum in 1906, officials broke
off a chunk and divided it to allow other museums to study the material. In
1938, a museum official gave the University of Oregon's Museum of Natural
History a piece weighing about 61/2 ounces. A replica of the Willamette
Meteorite sits in front of the UO museum, but the fragment is not on
display.

The Willamette Meteorite -- the largest meteorite found in the United States
and the world's sixth largest -- was discovered 100 years ago on a hillside
in West Linn. The finder, Ellis Hughes, lugged the ancient rock to his
property from land owned by Oregon Iron and Steel. Hughes charged a quarter
for a peek at the meteorite, but his enterprise was short-lived when the
company won a lawsuit seeking the meteorite's return.

After display during the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, the
meteorite was sold for $20,600 to a wealthy New York woman, who donated it
to the New York museum. The meteorite is on display in the museum's new Rose
Center of Earth and Space.

Oregon residents at times have sought to bring the meteorite back to the
state. A dozen years ago, a group of Lake Oswego grade-school students
launched a spirited but unsuccessful three-year campaign to have the rock
returned.

Two years ago, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde asked the American
Museum of Natural History to return the meteorite, arguing that it was a
sacred object covered under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act. The museum contended the meteorite was "a natural feature
of the landscape rather than a ceremonial object" as described in the law.

The feud was settled with an agreement that allows the tribe access to the
meteorite at the museum for religious, historical and cultural purposes.

Pitt is aware of the past dispute. He said he removed the two meteorite
pieces from an auction last year when museum officials contacted him about
concerns the tribe had with the sale. Andrew T. Gardner, a New York
attorney, said he contacted the tribe last year on Pitt's behalf to discuss
those concerns. Gardner said he did not receive a reply to the last letter
he had sent, so Pitt decided to place the objects in the Tucson auction.

Rob Greene, an attorney for the Grand Ronde, said he planned to discuss the
meteorite fragments with tribal officials today.

Pitt said "if the Grand Ronde want the pieces, I would be more than happy to
work out extremely favorable terms with them, because it's something I've
been extremely sensitive about. I'd like to do right by everyone concerned."
You can reach Richard L. Hill at richardhill_at_news.oregonian.com or
503-221-8238.
Received on Fri 08 Feb 2002 11:46:05 AM PST