[meteorite-list] Emil Cohen's Market Trends of 1899 - Old prices in today's $ - Part I.

From: Martin Altmann <Altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun Apr 10 13:14:17 2005
Message-ID: <00b701c53df1$7fe73a40$aa7f9a54_at_9y6y40j>

Dear list,

last year I acquired following article:

E.Cohen: Ueber den Wuelfing'schen Tauschwerth der Meteoriten im Vergleich
mit den Handelspreisen.,
published in: Mitth. aus dem naturwiss. Ver. f?r Neu-Vorpommern u. R?gen,
XXXI. pp 50-66, Greifswald 1899.

(Wuelfing's trade value of meteorites in comparision with the market
prices).

Emil Cohen (1842-1905) was a mineralogist, geologist and an eminent
meteorite researcher of his times, from 1885 on professor at the university
in Greifswald. He started to write a monumental comprehensive work about
meteorites, his "Meteoritenkunde", but died before the third volume was
published.
In 1889 E.Weinschenck honoured him in naming that silvery iron carbide found
in iron
meteorites "Cohenite".

This article was a reply to Wuelfing's suggested formula for the
determination of a trade value of a meteorite specimen, depending on total
weight of the class and total known weight of that find or fall, which was
published two years ago in 1897.
Cohen examines there, whether W?lfing's values are reflecting actually the
prices asked on the market.
Furthermore he makes some remarks about the behaviour of dealers and
collectors and wonders about the sometimes strange affectations of the
collectors (private meteorite collecting wasn't invented by Nininger).
(His observations seem not directly unfamiliar to me...)

For the comparison Cohen publishes a list of prices for more than 300
meteorites, which he collected during several years until 1899!
It contains the average price per gram, the lowest and the highest price.

Now with this old price lists we have the problem, that we don't know, what
would be the old currencies in what the prices are given be worth today? How
to find out the purchasing power of the old currency to have an equivalent
or how to convert in this case the Mark of 1899 into US-$ of 2005?
Long term indices for the purchasing power I couldn't find. Old single
prices, wages, salaries aren't helpful, as for instance manpower was cheap
at that times, foods expensive - today in the first world it's otherway
round.
Thus here my approach:
Cohen's prices are given in Pfennige of Mark (german Goldmark). The Mark was
a gold-backed currency, consequently I calculated my adaptation via the gold
price. I had the fine gold contents of the Mark, keeping in mind, that the
gold price at that time was subject of manipulation by the national
governments, I chose the New Yorker fixing of that year and in virtue of
today's goldprice's, I converted the Goldmark in today's US-$. (In fact I
did it last year, when the ounce was at 400$).
I got out: 1Mark = 4.61$
(of course the purchase power of gold was see-sawing through time too, but
do you have a better suggestion?)

Or in other words, the following price list is that, what you have
effectively to pay, if you'll run tomorrow to your bank, buy gold, jump in
the time machine, travel 106 years back and purchase meteorites.

In the following list, I use the meteorite names according to the Catalogue
of Meteorites, I added the type, an asterisk indicates an observed fall.
Given is the average price, in brackets lowest and highest price.
Meteorites marked as "pseudo" were at Cohen's times already known as
pseudometeorites.
Some finds of the same meteorite (most already known and listed by Cohen to
be paired) were sold seperately at different price levels.
A "(?)" is found in thuse few cases, where I wasn't able to identify the
meteorite:

And here we go!


Agen* H5 16.34$ (14,29-18.44)
Alais* CI1 66,85$ (41.49-92.90)
Aleppo* L6 6.92$
Alfianello* L6 3.00$ (0.92-4.61)
Ambapur Nagla* H5 19.59$ (13.83-25.36)
Angra dos Reis* ANGR 110.64$
Arlington IIE 17.52$ (16.14-19.36)
Assisi* H5 18.44$
Augustinovka IIIA 8.07$
Ausson* L5 21.21$ (6.92-34.58)
Avilez (*) H 83.90$

Babb's Mill IrUNGR 12.91$
Bachmut* L6 18.44$
Ballinoo IIC 2.77$ (1.75-3.92)
Barbotan* H5 20.75$ (11.76-27.66)
Bath* H5 6.45$ (3.00-9.22)
Beaver Creek* H4 9.22$ (3.92-12.68)
Bella Roca IIIAB 4.38$ (3.69-4.84)
Benares* LL4 55.32$
Bendeg? IC 4.15$ (2.31-5.99)
Bishopville* AUB 43.33$ (27.66-65.92)
Bitburg IAB 44.26$ (42.64-46.10)
Black Mountain IAB 19.50$
Bluff(a) L5 2.77$ (1.84-3.46)
Bohumilitz IAB 4.61$
Bori* L6 20.05$ (11.53-23.05)
Borkut* L5 23.05$
Brahin PAL 26.28$ (12.68-35.27)
Braunau* IIAB 16.14$ (9.22-23.05)
Bremerv?rde* H3.7 17.52$ (4.61-27.66)
Brenham PAL 3.69$ (1.38-7.61)
Bridgewater IID 7.15$ (5.07-11.06)
Burlington IIIE 7.84$
Buschhof* L6 46.10$ (15.67-77.22)
Butler IrUNGR 6.92$ (3.00-11.53)

Cabezo de Mayo* L6 47.02$ (17.92-76.53)
Cambria IrUNGR 7.38$ (4.61-10.14)
Campo del Cielo 17.98$ (4.61-31.35)
Cangas de Onis* H5 18.90$ (12.91-25.82)
Canyon Diablo IAB 1.84$ (0.46-4.61)
Cape of Good Hope IVB 11.53$
Carlton IIICD 4.38$ (2.03-7.38)
Carthage IIIB 4.15$ (2.31-5.99)
Cereseto* H5 21.44$ (15.67-27.66)
Chantonnay* L6 10.37$ (4.61-15.67)
Charsonville* H6 20.98$
Chateau-Renard* L6 11.29$ (6.92-16.60)
Chesterville IIAB 6.45$ (4.84-8.30)
Chulafinnee IIIAB 10.14$ (9.22-10.83)
Chupaderos IIIAB 7.61$
Coahuila IIAB
  - Butcher Iron 2.31$ (0.46-3.69)
  - Saltillo 9.22$
Cold Bokkeveld* CM2 41.49$ (36.88-46.10)
Colfax IAB 9.68$
Collescipoli* H5 13.83$ (7.38-23.05)
Copiapo IAB 9.22$
Cosby's Creek IAB
   - Cocke Co. 4.61$ (2.54-7.84)
   - Sevier Co. 5.53$ (3.46-9.68)
Cowra IrUNGR 38.72$ (25.82-51.63)
Crab Orchard MES 2.31$ (1.57-3.04)
Cranbourne IIICD
  - Beaconsfield 3.32$ (2.21-4.84)
  - Melbourne 4.15$ (3.92-4.61)

...to be continued, if you think, that it's interesting enough ...

Buckleboo!
Martin
Received on Sun 10 Apr 2005 01:19:48 PM PDT