[meteorite-list] Sale - Howardite Blow Out

From: almitt <almitt_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Sep 23 21:25:45 2004
Message-ID: <41537734.85FE45B6_at_kconline.com>

Hi Matt and all,

Although I collect NWA's (mainly rare items never before obtainable
until the NWA Meteorite Rush), I also tend to focus mainly on "name
brand" types for myself and customers.

I think a great deal of the problem is this (and I am sure others will
disagree) that the PROPER field work wasn't done on collecting and
investigating the various strewnfields. If more serious work had been
done and a total weight of a fall and recording overlapping fields of
meteorites had been noted, then items would have been more readily
catalog, written up in the bulletins and named (even if they just had a
number). I realize in the desert sands that more material would have
been found later, pieces picked up and dropped off in other areas and
adding to the confusion but they could still have been identified and
paired later.

Nomads picking up falls along the way and tossing them on the table as a
group for someone to buy without regard to where they came from adds to
the lesser value of these orphan meteorites. Someday when enough lab
work is done and we can pair all the specimens that came from out of the
desert perhaps we can peace the puzzle together and have a map of where
specimens originated from giving them a better pedigree. It should be a
wake up call for the importance of doing good field work by those
hunting and buying specimens. Ironically it may take decades to piece
all this together. Hope no one takes this personal but simply my
feelings on these specimens.

--AL Mitterling
Received on Thu 23 Sep 2004 09:24:04 PM PDT