[meteorite-list] Willamette Meteorite Fragments Sold

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:04 2004
Message-ID: <200202121726.JAA09056_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/science/101351855725853138.xml

Willamette Meteorite fragments sold
RICHARD L. HILL
The Oregonian
February 12, 2002

Two fragments of the famous Willamette Meteorite drew "spirited" bidding at
an auction in Tucson, Ariz., during the weekend, says the dealer who sold
them.

Darryl Pitt, curator of the Macovich Collection of Meteorites in New York
City, said the smaller rectangular piece -- about a half-inch long and
weighing one-third ounce -- sold for $3,300 on Sunday. The larger
6-inch-long, 3.4-ounce specimen sold for $11,000. He declined to say who
bought the items but said about three dozen people made bids. "It was very
spirited and competitive bidding," Pitt said.

The smaller fragment sold for about 3 1/2 times more than what Pitt had
estimated it would bring, while the larger piece went for about the
anticipated price.

Pitt obtained the larger piece in a meteorite exchange with the American
Museum of Natural History in New York about four years ago and the smaller
specimen from the Museum of Natural History in London two months ago.

The auction drew criticism from officials of the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde, who say the meteorite -- called "Tomanowos" by the Clackamas
people -- is sacred to them. They said the tribe was "saddened" by the sale
of the "spiritually significant" fragments.

Found 100 years ago in West Linn, the 15 1/2-ton Willamette Meteorite is the
world's sixth-largest meteorite and the largest ever discovered in the
United States.

Oregon Iron and Steel sold the meteorite to Mrs. William E. Dodge II of New
York, who donated it to the American Museum of Natural History in 1906.
Since then, small portions of it have been taken off and swapped for
specimens from individuals and other museums. The University of Oregon's
Museum of Natural History in Eugene has at least one piece of the meteorite,
which is not on display.

Dick Pugh, a meteorite expert in Portland, attended the Tucson auction and
placed an unsuccessful bid on the smaller fragment. The retired science
teacher said he "has pieces of Oregon's other three meteorites, but I don't
have a piece of the Willamette, and I'd like to have one."

Pugh, who has conducted detailed research about the meteorite, thinks the
iron-and-nickel rock did not plummet from the sky onto Oregon turf but came
via water. He said evidence suggests the meteorite arrived aboard an iceberg
that was swept down the Columbia River from Montana during the massive
Missoula Floods about 15,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

Other so-called "erratics" -- rock material not native to the area -- that
the floods carried were found within three feet of the meteorite, Pugh said.
"The meteorite also was upside down when it was found. If it had been coming
through the air, the heavy side would have been on the ground."

Pitt has three other pieces of the Oregon meteorite, including a 28-pound
end section that was sawed off about five years ago to allow the huge rock
to be displayed on a pedestal in the museum's new Rose Center of Earth and
Space.

Pugh said several dealers tried to swap for the large piece that Pitt
succeeded in obtaining.

Pitt said he respects the Grand Ronde's beliefs but was unsuccessful in
reaching an amicable agreement with the tribe.

Two years ago, the Grand Ronde requested that the American Museum of Natural
History turn the huge meteorite over to the tribe, arguing that it was a
sacred object covered under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act. The museum countered in federal court that the meteorite
was "a natural feature of the landscape rather than a ceremonial object."

The dispute was settled with the museum's keeping the meteorite and allowing
the tribe access to the space rock for cultural and religious ceremonies.

You can reach Richard L. Hill at richardhill_at_news.oregonian.com or
503-221-8238.
Received on Tue 12 Feb 2002 12:26:01 PM PST