[meteorite-list] AD: METEORITE CLASSIFICATION SERVICE

From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Jul 15 22:45:24 2006
Message-ID: <93aaac890607151558q32f63d01t38c6b648ec327e0a_at_mail.gmail.com>

Allright, down to business again...a quick message before I leave.

Hello David, All,

>Thanks for your thoughtful replies. I don't have nearly the worries that
>some may have over this new planned U of A repository, but I am
>concerned about the temptation by owners of rare meteorites to sell to a
>highly motivated and well-financed entity at prices that they couldn't
>realize within the modest collector community. You have agreed with this
>concern, although I'll differ with you on your choice of words:

No problem - I just don't see any real problem with the institution or its
goals. It's the dealers you should be talking to if they're going to be
offering the U of A whole stones, not the university. It sounded as if the
program would take what it could get from the dealers.

>"Yeah, it could. It could raise prices if dealers allowed it to. And
>if dealers are greedy, that's what'll happen. The possibility's there."

>Marvin does play hardball with his prices, I've had to play with him
>before. I believe it would be an impregnable fortress once a meteorite
>was introduced, which is good for science, but possibly bad for my
>interests. I'm just looking out for number one, and number one is not
>rich enough to compete with a highly funded institution like the U of A.

Yeah, it would be impossible to get much out without a trade - that much's
for sure.
Would it really? Well, it depends on what your interests are. I like
having a collection, but preserving meteorites comes first....for me in any
case.

>Jason, my small-sized collection is secure, labeled, weighed to the mg
>scale, and well-maintained in a controlled environment. I have little or
>nothing that isn't also available within the established repositories
>utilized by the research community. I've never had a request to supply a
>specimen from my collection for study.

Well, that's nice...I've been to peoples' houses and seen utter meteoric
chaos, and it wasn't in Park Forest either. Some people are neat, and some
are messy. I know I could rely on my memory alone to identify all of the
meteorites I have, but they're certainly cataloged, labeled, kept in vials,
and silica gelled...thanks to my father's diligence in such
matters anyways.

In fact, the Smithsonian
>Collection Manager was not even interested enough in a significant
>donation that I wanted to make to return my call during my 5-day visit.
>I'm more than happy to keep the historic Zeitschel thin section of
>Monument Draw.

Too bad...just like the Field Museum turning down the beautifully oriented
main mass of Saint Augustine a few years ago...and it's subsequent cutting.

Not to mention the cutting of the Old Woman by the Smithsonian itself, just
to spite the fact that Californians were protesting its removal from the
state.
Odd, isn't it, how they got away with taking 900 lbs off "for analysis?"
Well, the list goes on...pretty endlessly in fact, and forever lengthening.
It's true, such institutions like to have nice collections, but I don't
think their aim is necessarily the preservation of meteorites. It's mostly
about science and keeping the funds rolling into the coffers in my opinion -
which would be hard to do without a spectacular publicly accessible
display.
Especially as not too many people seem to care about meteorites in the
least; if not from lack of interest, from ignorance.

>Have a great weekend, I'm back to work tomorrow.

Have a good one,
Jason


On 7/15/06, David Weir <dgweir_at_earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> Hello Jason,
>
> Thanks for your thoughtful replies. I don't have nearly the worries that
> some may have over this new planned U of A repository, but I am
> concerned about the temptation by owners of rare meteorites to sell to a
> highly motivated and well-financed entity at prices that they couldn't
> realize within the modest collector community. You have agreed with this
> concern, although I'll differ with you on your choice of words:
>
> "Yeah, it could. It could raise prices if dealers allowed it to. And
> if dealers are greedy, that's what'll happen. The possibility's there."
>
> Marvin does play hardball with his prices, I've had to play with him
> before. I believe it would be an impregnable fortress once a meteorite
> was introduced, which is good for science, but possibly bad for my
> interests. I'm just looking out for number one, and number one is not
> rich enough to compete with a highly funded institution like the U of A.
>
> Jason, my small-sized collection is secure, labeled, weighed to the mg
> scale, and well-maintained in a controlled environment. I have little or
> nothing that isn't also available within the established repositories
> utilized by the research community. I've never had a request to supply a
> specimen from my collection for study. In fact, the Smithsonian
> Collection Manager was not even interested enough in a significant
> donation that I wanted to make to return my call during my 5-day visit.
> I'm more than happy to keep the historic Zeitschel thin section of
> Monument Draw.
>
> Have a great weekend, I'm back to work tomorrow.
>
> David
>
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Received on Sat 15 Jul 2006 06:58:19 PM PDT