[meteorite-list] Largest Meteorite Collection

From: bernd.pauli_at_paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 21 15:59:57 2005
Message-ID: <DIIE.0000003300003741_at_paulinet.de>

Matt wrote:

> What determines the "largest in the world". Number of
> pieces, quality, rare? I wanna know since this title
> gets tossed around ALOT.

Hello All,

The weak echo or response certainly shows how difficult it is
to set the parameters that determine the size of a meteorite
collection. When people ask me "how many meteorites" I have,
I see myself confronted with these problems:

01) there are multiple Allende, Nuevo Mercurio, etc. specimens.
    Example: 10 Allende specimens (9 stones + one thin section).
    Now how do I count? Is it *one*, is it *nine*, should I also
    include and count my Allende thin section?

02) What about plaster casts like Bob Haag's Venus stone?

03) What about "secondary" products like crater glass, tektites,
    moldavites, LDG? And here the same problem again: there are
    numerous "indochinites" in my collection. Is that just *one*
    tektite if you decide to count them by number?

04) What about all the DaGs, the Dhofars, the NWAs, the Acfers?
    Example: there are quite a few NWAs in my collection...count
    them one by one or lump them together - all the L, LL, H, etc. ?

05) What about Putorana, Suevite, Alamo Breccia, Ries Belemnites?

06) What about Sudbury and other impact-related material?

07) What about Tunguska bark or Wabar pearls?

Problems, problems, problems

+ Best wishes,

Bernd
Received on Thu 21 Apr 2005 03:59:55 PM PDT