[meteorite-list] Re: Russian samples- Loss Of NASA Work Surfaces At Moon Rock Trial

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:22:33 2004
Message-ID: <200306032131.OAA19693_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

>
> >In 1993, three flecks of moon rocks from a Russian
> lunar probe sold at a Sotheby's auction for $442,500.

I had sent this out in June 1994 (before this meteorite mailing list
had existed).


                            MOON ROCK FOR SALE

     A Moon rock will be auctioned off by Superior Galleries in
Beverly Hills, California on June 25, 1994. The Moon rock was returned
to Earth from an unspecified Apollo mission. The following is the
exact text from Superior Galleries' catalog on the space auction:

        "Lot 318. Moon Rock. An actual black basaltic moon rock
         (.65 carat) mounted on a moonstone pendant surrounded by
         diamonds. The moon rock comes with a provenance provided
         by the consignor tracing it back to a motel owner in the
         Cape who received the moonstone as a friendship gift from
         an astronaut. The consignor has offered this rock to NASA
         with the proviso that they pay him for it if it proved to
         be genuine and/or if it was destroyed in testing. They
         refused, but didn't confiscate the stone. We are selling
         the rock moon (pendant) as is, based on the owner's
         certificate of authenticity."

     The estimated value of the Moon rock ranges from $25,000 to $35,000.

     This will be the third time that lunar material has been available
at an auction. The first time was in January 1993 when Moon dust was
auctioned by Superior Galleries. The Moon dust was collected by a NASA
technician onto a 2 inch piece of transparent tape from the spacesuit of
astronaut Dave Scott after his Apollo 15 trip to the Moon in July, 1971.
This Moon dust sold for $46,750. The second time occurred at the Sotheby's
auction house in New York in December 1993. Three small fragments scooped
up by the Soviet's Luna 16 spacecraft in 1970 sold for a whopping $442,500.

Ron Baalke
Received on Tue 03 Jun 2003 05:31:55 PM PDT