[meteorite-list] Matteo's Challenge Answered(was India #2)

From: Steve Schoner <steve_schoner_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:25 2004
Message-ID: <20031011214123.44246.qmail_at_web12705.mail.yahoo.com>

Gregory,

You miss the point.

If a tiny speck must be destroyed to confim it, then
what is the point beyond confirming the reputation of
the seller?

It is certainly better to have the large 50 gram piece
that the seller has put his/her reputation on and if
there is a question. Take a sliver off for the
testing. You still will have 49+ grams afterwards;
And the reputation of the seller is confirmed at the
tiny loss of material.

Take a speck, test it "poof" its gone! Yep, that was
or was not what the seller said it was. I think that
is a pretty awful way to test ones microscopic
collections.

In such cases I choose thin sectons, where I cannot
afford a piece large enough, especially those
ultra-rare types where a speck would be destroyed in
testing it if there ever was a doubt. At least that
way, I can "see" under a petrologic microscope what I
purchased, and also confirm that it is what the seller
says it is. I have one, and only one speck in my
collection that was made, very professionally, of
Chassigny. It is the only speck that I have, but it
is a slide. And viewing it in polarized light, I have
no doubt whatsoever that Chassigny it is.

And that is all the proof I need.

Steve Schoner/ams



--- Sharkkb8_at_aol.com wrote:
> steve_schoner_at_yahoo.com writes:
> ......infamous B**** Specks....[snip]....How do you
> know, other than the
> reputation of the seller behind it?
> How does the average collector know that a 50-gram
> slice is what the seller
> says it is? You, Steve, are certainly sophisticated
> enough to visually assess
> a specimen with great accuracy, and do some labwork
> to establish authenticity,
> but the "average collector" probably can't/doesn't
> do either. Sure, most
> everyone with a basic grounding in meteorites can
> tell the difference between all
> the "familiar" collectible rocks. But past that, I
> think that very, very few
> collectors can visually discern the nuances between
> one unfamiliar Ordinary
> Chondrite and the next, or do lab follow-up on
> purchased specimens << so that
> the minerology (sic) of such can be confirmed via
> optical and or microprobe
> means. >>.
>
> So it seems unfair to me to focus solely on tiny
> specimens and point out the
> difficulty of their verification, and complain that
> the (subjective)
> reputation of the seller is the only available
> criterion for buying them. Reputation
> alone is what the majority of casual collectors must
> rely on for any purchase,
> no matter how big or small the specimens they buy.
>
> Gregory
>


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Received on Sat 11 Oct 2003 05:41:23 PM PDT