[meteorite-list] First meteorite

From: almitt <almitt_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:41 2004
Message-ID: <3C37A93F.E4345F34_at_kconline.com>

Well here's my story,

My first real meteorite was meteorite oxide glued to a card from Meteor(i=
te) Crater in the mid 60's. Yes I still have this and in my display. Then=
 later in the 70's I went back to the crater and figured I could buy an u=
noxidized iron meteorite. When I asked, it is as though I spoke a profani=
ty. That material is reserved for scientific study and so forth. They DID=
 have more oxide for sale and I bought the largest piece they had but was=
 very disappointed with this.

Like many on the list I have been an amateur astronomer most of my life. =
I was a founding member of our local astronomy society and built a major =
portion (quite literally) of our observatory which rests at a YMCA Camp i=
n North Webster, Indiana. You can read more about this here: http://clubs=
=2Ekconline.com/was/ I gave a talk on meteorites to our club which =
only stimulated me on the subject as there was little to be found on the =
subject at that time and yes the internet as we know it today was non-exi=
stent. I wanted to also buy a set of meteorites to show to the school kid=
s when I did my astronomy talks in order to show them something from oute=
r space. I bought my first real meteorites from the great and kind Robert=
 Haag, an Allende with a window ground in to it, 15 grams, a Canyon Diabl=
o about 100 grams and an Imilac stony-iron 38 gram slice, thus covering a=
ll the major groups somewhere in the mid 80's. Having the three major gro=
ups should be all that anyone should ever need, right?

I took these to many many schools and would get them out as a side show t=
o the the main talk on astronomy, no doubt inspiring many of the kids who=
 got to see and hold my specimens. I didn't know much about these and dec=
ided I needed to know more in order to tell the kids I was showing them t=
o more information. When I went to the library to find more material I to=
ok out the book Find a Fallen Star by H.H. Nininger (I later bought the b=
ook from Robert). This was the fuel that would light the already small bu=
rning fire. I read about the falls and finds and wanted more of the inter=
esting meteorites I was reading about. I realized there were many sub cla=
sses that might be interesting to collect. I soon found out that they wer=
en't cheap to collect (yes even back then, especially some of the rarer t=
ypes. I bought a 2 gram Zagami from Robert Haag for $100/gram. I remember=
 thinking boy am I nuts, but now what a bargain it was.

I went to a number of shows in which I would occasionally see meteorites =
for sale and increased my collection but at a very un-cost effective rate=
=2E Surely there must me someone else selling these for less. I begin to =
check around trying to figure out who had meteorites at a better cost. I =
soon found David New and bought many new interesting specimens from him. =
I was like a kid in a candy store wanting dozens of his offerings. I also=
 found Blaine Reed who was offering meteorite specimens for a unheard of =
low price and soon began buying a major portion of my collection from Bla=
ine. Still with this new found sources I couldn't afford the meteorites I=
 wanted at the rate I wanted to increase my collection. After attending s=
ome shows I decided that I could buy specimens and resale them for a frac=
tion of what was being offered by some of the others out there. In some c=
ases I could sell for 1/3 of the price. It was obvious to me that a bit o=
f price gouging was going on. I made a display case and
began to sell at some of the shows I had previously been a spectator. I s=
old my material rapidly when the customers found out there was a more cos=
t effective source. I was well know to most of the people attending the s=
hows I sold at so a trusted face was a big advantage. My competition in =
some cases tried to talk me into selling them for more as I was cutting m=
y own throat. I would never cave in as I thought it is better to mark up =
a little and sell in quantity. The same competition latter on tried to sa=
y I was getting my specimens from illegal sources and the reason I could =
sell so low but in reality I was following them around at the same shows =
they bought their material from and so it was only a method to try ruin m=
y reputation so they could sell high.

Some on this list may remember the days of Compuserve and the astronomy f=
orum. In this forum we generated a small group of meteorite affectionados=
 and talked about meteorites in the very early 90's and on. At a time whe=
n the internet was not widely used and there was little information about=
 meteorites we were offering information and provided files of informatio=
n on the subject with pictures and so forth. A kind of pre meteorite list=
 list. Later on we were given our own area to talk about the subject. I l=
ater got off Compuserve and on to the internet and don't know if that are=
a is still in existence or not.

My personal collation has grown by leaps and bounds. I like to collect sp=
ecimens that are at least 100 grams in size. I do have a few micro sized =
specimens but my collection is several hundred specimens that are from a =
few grams in size on up to 40 lbs in size. I collect by class so I think =
my collection is one of the most class perfect collections in existence. =
I will boast that I am most likely the largest Indiana meteorite dealer w=
ith a stock of several hundreds of specimens. I am most likely one of the=
 largest USA dealers (not that it is important) but it is one of the bes=
t kept secrets as I don't do the internet web pages yet like many. I put =
out color catalogs (in print that you can hold in your hand) for my custo=
mers twice a year with my offerings and sell many dollars worth of meteor=
ites each and every year. I still add to my collection when something int=
eresting comes along.

I have been to colleges, grade schools, high schools, libraries and speci=
al events showing my collection to those who will come or have given quit=
e a few talks on the subject of meteorites. I have also appeared on local=
 TV a number of times displaying my meteorite specimens. I have no doubt =
reach 10's of thousands of people (I wouldn't be surprised if it is over =
100,000 people) with my educational programs and looked at many many spec=
imens that people have brought me to check out to see if their sample mig=
ht not be a meteorite. Most of the time, sadly, it is not. I have sold ma=
ny people their first meteorite and continue to display and hunt meteorit=
es. I would like to hunt more for them but am tied down to regular job as=
 well as the meteorite business. I appreciate the many people I come into=
 contact with daily and appreciate all the fine people out there wanting =
to hold a falling star, whether they hold a display piece I have or buy o=
ne from me. My passion for these rocks from space
really haven't changed and I often look at some of the fine specimens I h=
ave collected over the years and ponder about them. I like reading about =
meteorites and often hold and look at the specimens I am reading about, s=
ometimes even putting them under my microscope to see the details that ar=
e being talked about. I do have a small meteorite lab and cut and polish =
my own specimens, as well as run tests on suspect meteorites. Mainly I ha=
ve a lot of fun and enjoy the many aspects of meteorite collecting, conti=
nue to sell specimens and run ebay auctions on a small basis.

--AL Mitterling
Mitterling Meteorites
Received on Sat 05 Jan 2002 08:32:49 PM PST