[meteorite-list] My Top 10 of classic meteorites for Beginners

From: David Freeman <dfreeman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:17:42 2004
Message-ID: <3FD5F9A0.8010400_at_fascination.com>

Dear Martin, List;
I really like the first couple of "CLASSIC" lists and then it started
getting a little more of a "my martian favorite is a better idea".
Yah, yah, yah.
I would prefer to corrupt to "Getting started, the Beginners Collection
" . All three SNC's are not in a beginner collection unless he is a
scientist or millionaire! Same with ecrusites, diogenites, or other exotics.

Here is my List. It is chosen for education purposes, for cost factor,
for beauty, and FOR NUTURING LOVE OF THE HOBBY.

1. Gibeon.......great iron, cost effective for larger piece, nice
widmanstatten pattern, iron education.
2. Any NWA....... to learn fusion crust, cost effective for larger
specimen, learn the iron grains principal. Learn of hunting the
deserts and where meteorites are easier to spot, geo politics, foreign
lands.
3. Nantan.......Lets learn rust, Lawrencite, before we get too far
financially into meteorites, lets learn to protect them. Very
    affordable, learn to love the down trodden that fell in the wrong
place, fate..
4.Allende.......Lets learn how precious they are, carbonaceous
chondrite's are special, and affordable in the Allende,
    strewnfield education, geo-economics of meteorites in small communities.
5. Canyon Dieblo.........This is the crater meteorite, lets learn a
little about impacts, impactites, and astrophysics of meteorites,
    History of mining and property rights of meteorite locations,
HISTORY of meteorites is important, this one has history.
6. Any meteorite from one's home state/area that is a local meteorite to
say, "this is found where I come from..."
7. Any meteorite that one has found. Finding ones own meteorite is hard
to do but this is an extremely important part of
    any beginner's collection. Not all meteorites in the Beginners
Collection should be easy to bag. Note lucky #7! This one
    leaves the amateur LOTS of room for optimism to grown in the the
hobby, ask lots of questions, a chance to contribute to
    the world of meteorites. I suppose in retrospect that by the time
one finds their first meteorite, that they MAY break out of the
beginner collecting catagory.
8. Any meteorite from a famous dealer either past or present, worship
those that help the hobby. My First was from Jim Strope,
second was from Mike Farmer, third was a Bob Haag pallesite! I was off
to a great start!
9. Bragging spot for personal bragger, either large, small, gift from
?????, hole in it, venus or odd shapped shikote-alin, looks like
a squirrel, bought it for a dime, etc. This one goes in the "special
to me" box. Now here one would find a bessy speck of Moon
or Mars, or specks of Tagish Lake, or even Park Forest! Remember
"beginner" word, meaning affordable, and probably
small, fascinating in nature.
10. Not even a meteorite, FIND A FALLING STAR by H. H. Nininger. and in
this slot too, Rocks From Space or any other special book
that may or may not bear a signature of a living meteorite person . A to
Z that is signed would fit!

11. (What is this)...A nice collection of locally found meteorwrongs for
education in what makes a meteorite a meteorite, and not.

I realize this is not an official "classic" meteorite list but Beginners
Collection TO ENRICH THE LOVE OF COLLECTING METEORITES would be more
interesting to the beginner. "Having been there, and what I found most
valuable to "bag early" list would be the same as "classic"?
 Sorry for my corruption of the classic theme.
Dave Freeman
IMCA #3864


j.divelbiss_at_att.net wrote:

>Martin and others,
>
>Martin, with your list you have captured my thought that started this thread.
>
>What "classic" meteorites are first rate, recommended and available to
>collectors, and as rocks should remain stable in our lifetime.
>
>Mark Bostick, your list list also captured this thought. Other lists were a
>combination of classics and personal favorites. Another list given by Chicago
>Steve is, well...unique.
>
>Norbert's list is an all-galaxy roster of primo cut/choice materials that do
>belong on some kind of all time list. What a list it was...I wish they were
>available to all of us.
>
>My first list was written in about 3 minutes...I did not put a lot of thought
>into it but would only change a few to create my own classic
>list...meteorites that we all should own.
>
>I'll give this list to others one day when they ask..."What would you
>recommend I start my collection with?" The classics of course.
>
>John
>
>PS Maybe I'll make it a list of 20, or 50...
>
>>Hi - here's my Beginner's Top Ten,
>>
>>because I'm sometimes asked, which meteorites would be suitable for the
>>beginning collector.
>>
>>1. Mundrabilla (etched)
>>2. Juancheng
>>3. Sikhote-Alin
>>4. Allende
>>5. Millbillillie
>>6. A big unclassified NWA
>>7. DaG 735
>>8. A meteorite from your home country
>>9. Vaca Muerta
>>10. Dho 461
>>
>>Remarks:
>>1. Mundrabilla with a proper etching is one of the most beautiful iron
>>meteorites. The lamellae are short and the fields small , thus already on
>>small surfaces there are a lot of details and the pattern visible (Neumanns,
>>Troilit eyes, sometimes barred..).
>>If you don't find an etched Mundrabilla, take a Gibeon, but take care, that
>>the Widmannstättern are not faible.
>>
>>2. Juancheng
>>It's an obseved fall, cheap and much fresher than the Gao-Guenies. Perfect
>>Peas like Pultusk.
>>Cut, it's one of the best breccias, which you will find for the money.
>>
>>3. Sikhote, of course. A famous fall, well available. Choose an entire
>>specimen with good regmaglypts (no shrapnel) and try to get a "blue" one
>>with real fusion crust.
>>It's the largest iron shower in modern times and the single one which
>>produced such an immense number of complete, regmaglypted fresh individuals.
>>No similar iron is available at a comparable low price.
>>
>>4. Allende.
>> one of the cheapest CV3. Covers the corbonaceous group. Contains the
>>oldest known minerals of the solar system. Observed fall. Take care not to
>>buy a brownish weathered specimen, choose a cut specimen with those large
>>witish, irregular shaped inclusions, called CAIs.
>>
>>5. For the HED-Group Achondrites Millbillillie is ideal, it's fresh, a
>>classic locality and not more expensive than most of the weathered desert
>>eucrites. Take a fullslice or an endcut. Pay not more than 15/g at a dealer
>>or try to get it cheaper from ebay.
>>
>>6. Now you'll need a real big specimen for putting on the desk, for
>>impressing your friends, for playing and for satisfying your haptic desires.
>>Take an unclassified desert find from ebay, don't pay more than 80-120/kg,
>>except it is a fresh crusted or oriented one. Criteria for the choice: You
>>just have to like it and it has to be LARGE!
>>
>>7. All beginners want to have a piece from Moon or Mars!
>> DaG 735 is fresher than DaG 476, both are the cheapest SNCs. Normal
>>price on ebay would be +/- 250$/g nowadays. Beware of those enthusiasts, who
>>still have them on their pages at prices from years ago of 1200/g and up.
>>
>>8. All collectors will feel after a while, that they urgently need a
>>meteorite found as near as possible to their homes. Search the BMH-online
>>database to find the finds&falls of your home county and then: happy
>>hunting!
>>
>>9. Vaca Muerta is by far the cheapest Mesosiderite. Cheaper than all rusty,
>>crusty desert Mesos.
>> Take a cut specimen, it should be as fresh as possible (take a look if
>>it has much fresh metal) and choose that one, which has the largest variety
>>of inclusions. Pay not more than 2 - 2.5$/g.
>>If it should be a Pallasite: Brenham and Brahin are by far the cheapest, but
>>problematic concerning rust. Choose a sealed slice (and this is still no
>>guarantee, that it will remain stable!). Take a Brahin from ebay and don't
>>pay more than 2$/g.
>>More expensive, but aesthetic and good boys, are Imilac and Esquel. Very
>>stable without any prevention. Translucent slices of Imilac (forget the
>>individuals of Imilac, mostly they are skeletons without olivines) starts
>>approx. at 15/g, but are more difficult to find than Esquel.
>>
>>10. See 7. Why Dho 461? Because some fools recently got hysteric about a
>>little oscillation of the Moon prices and didn't get it yet, that the prices
>>are now again the same as before this short period, so that they still throw
>>away their Dho 461 at 500$/g, which is a somewhat silly cheap price, hehe.
>>
>>Keep your fingers away from Nantan, Campo del Cielo, Dronino - they are dirt
>>cheap, but often rust like hell, so that it's no fun at the beginning and
>>they will stay cheap until you are more experienced.
>>
>>Any comments?
>>Martin A.
>>
>>
>>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "mark ford" <markf_at_ssl.gb.com>
>>To: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
>>Sent: Monday, December 08, 2003 12:35 PM
>>Subject: RE: [meteorite-list] My Top 10 of classic meteorites
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Here's my top ten
>>
>>1 Allende
>>2 Allende
>>3 Allende
>>4 Allende
>>5 Allende
>>6 Allende
>>7 Allende
>>8 Allende
>>9 Allende
>>10 Allende
>>
>>But hey I'm not fussy.
>>
>>:)
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Received on Tue 09 Dec 2003 11:34:40 AM PST