[meteorite-list] Statesboro Meteorite

From: ken newton <magellon_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:11 2004
Message-ID: <407190BF.7060708_at_earthlink.net>

The ebay listing is:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2235008196&category=3239

I think he should have taken the $25,000.
Perhaps a meteorite dealer would venture an estimate of this meteorite's
wholesale value?
Inquiring minds would like to know. :>)
Best,
Ken
#9632
http://imca.cc



Ron Baalke wrote:

>http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/040504/LOC_meteorite.shtml
>
>Mega-dollar meteorite
>
>Bulloch County farmer holding out for big bucks for not-so-big
>rock
>
>By Robert Branch
>Savannah Morning News
>April 5, 2004
>
>A prime piece of extraterrestrial real estate is for sale in Bulloch
>County. The owner has already turned down an offer of $25,000
>for it. But whoever buys it can't build a house on it or sell it for
>commercial development because it's no bigger than the palm of
>an adult human hand.
>
>It's a meteorite, formed billions of years ago when the universe
>was new, say scientists who have examined it. It is called the
>Statesboro Meteorite because meteorites are typically named
>for the nearest city, county or other geographic feature.
>
>Farmer Harold Cannon unearthed the meteorite four years ago
>while operating a bean picker in one of his fields. He said he
>knew it was no ordinary rock when he picked it up.
>
>Ultimately, he took the six-pound object to the department of
>geology and geography at Georgia Southern University.
>
>In order for a meteorite to be officially recognized by the
>international scientific community, a "type specimen" of at
>least 20 grams must be analyzed by a qualified curatorial facility.
>
>GSU research scientist Michael Kelley sent samples of the
>meteorite to the Smithsonian and a college in Pennsylvania.
>Tests show it is a relatively common meteorite known as a
>chondrite, made up of metals and stony minerals.
>
>Kelley also sent a few grams to the Space Science Laboratory at
>the University of California at Berkeley.
>
>"Scientists there will carbon date the sample to see if they can
>determine how long it has been on the surface of the Earth,"
>Kelley said, adding they'll also study gases trapped in the
>mineral grains to determine how long it traveled through space
>before landing here.
>
>Although scientists at GSU have made Cannon an offer for the
>meteorite, it's currently for sale on eBay. Cannon said GSU
>wouldn't meet his price.
>
>"He said he wanted to try getting as much money as he can for
>it," said Kelley "We certainly would like to have it in our
>museum but we have a limited amount we would be able to offer
>him."
>
>Kelley wouldn't say what that amount is, but he said meteorites,
>depending upon the type and quality, can sell for anywhere from
>$3 to $8 per gram. Cannon's chondrite weighs 2,061 grams.
>
>Cannon's Internet listing includes a description and photo of the
>meteorite, along with a note from alerting bidders that he has
>already turned down an offer for $25,000.
>
>At last check the bids on the site hadn't exceeded $150.
>
>Sometimes meteorites are broken up and the pieces sold, but
>Cannon said he will sell his find whole. Fernbank Science Center
>in Atlanta offered to buy a piece, but their price was too low for
>Cannon.
>
>Ed Albin, an astronomer at Fernbank, said the museum there has
>sections of 23 meteorites that have been found in Georgia and
>would like to have Cannon's.
>
>"I'm not sure we have the funds to acquire a meteorite," Albin
>said.
>
>"The benefit of having it would be that it is a find that would be
>kept in Georgia. One of the things I'm concerned about is that a
>European or Asian collector could acquire it and it would leave
>the country altogether."
>
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>
Received on Mon 05 Apr 2004 01:00:47 PM PDT