[meteorite-list] Fwd: 1, 400-pound Pallasite Meteorite Goes On Auction
From: csaconn at triad.rr.com <csaconn_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:43:11 -0400 Message-ID: <26007473.202471190673791471.JavaMail.root_at_hrndva-web07-z02> Here's a link to the auction list so far: http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=USA&screen=Catalogue&iSaleNo=15648 ---- Darryl Pitt <darryl at dof3.com> wrote: > > > as the following is now circulating outside of steve's hometown, > please note the writer was informed that steve's oriented brenham is > the largest available intact pallasite and the largest oriented > pallasite known to exist. it was also mentioned that steve's > meteorite, as everyone on this list is well aware, would be a > centerpiece at any of the foremost natural history museums. only when > i said goodbye to this fellow, after several minutes of answering > questions, did i make any mention of homeboys ringing bells. > > shame on me. > > all best/ darryl > > p.s. the sale on october 28th features several lots without > reserves, which is to say that according to the laws of the state of > new york specimens of siena, ensisheim, weston, tatahouine and canyon > diablo--among others--will sell for as little as the market bears. > > the first contemporary auction to offer a collection of meteorites > was in 1995 as part of phillips' first natural history auction. the > offering in which steve's meteorite is featured is the first auction > devoted to meteorites by a traditional auction house, and will > hopefully prove worthy of such a benchmark. > > d. > > Depth of Field Management > 1501 Broadway Suite 1304 > New York, New York 10036 > 212.302.9200 > > > > > > > Begin forwarded message: > > > From: Ron Baalke <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov> > > Date: September 24, 2007 5:50:47 PM EDT > > To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com (Meteorite Mailing List) > > Subject: [meteorite-list] 1,400-pound Pallasite Meteorite Goes On > > Auction > > > > > > > > http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/202352/ > > > > Auction to settle question of worth > > BY MARK MINTON > > Arkansas Democrat Gazette > > September 24, 2007 > > > > After Steve Arnold finally found the big one, buried seven feet > > deep in > > a Kansas wheat field, he hoisted his treasure into the bed of his > > pickup > > and hauled it back to the Ozarks. > > > > Two years later, Arnold's discovery, a rare meteorite that is the > > biggest of its kind ever unearthed, will go to the high bidder at an > > auction scheduled for next month in New York. Also on the block: > > Choice > > chunks of the moon and Mars, a smattering of meteorites decommissioned > > from the Smithsonian Institution and London's Natural History Museum, > > and a rock billed as "the sexiest meteorite on earth." > > > > There is even a crumpled mailbox felled by a meteorite that hurtled > > down > > one night in 1984, crash-landing outside a mobile home in Georgia. > > > > Bonhams & Butterfields, the auction house staging what it calls the > > first sale devoted to "fine meteorites," says the Oct. 28 event is > > historic because it includes a piece of the famous "Willamette > > meteorite" exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New > > York. But Arnold's cone-tipped space rock - "the most important > > American > > meteorite discovery of the past 50 years" - is the headliner in the > > Bonhams announcement. > > > > The 1,430-pound chunk of the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars > > already has brought fame to Arnold, a 41-year-old professional > > meteorite > > hunter who lives near Kingston in Madison County. His Oct. 16, 2005, > > discovery landed him an appearance on NBC's Today show, among other > > media notices. > > > > But only the auction will answer the question that has consumed him > > since he dug up the stone: What's it worth? > > > > No one can say with precision. Prize meteorites reportedly have > > sold to > > collectors for six-figure sums. A rock this big, however, may be > > beyond > > the reach of all but a couple of collectors, said Darryl Pitt, curator > > of New York's noted Macovich collection, which has about a dozen of > > its > > own pieces in the auction. > > > > The priciest meteorite ever sold at public auction went for $ 135,000. > > "And that was just a slice," Pitt said. > > > > "Your homeboy there, he rang the bell on this. It's truly off the > > charts.' > > > > Arnold discovered his meteorite, which is the size of an engine block, > > on farmland near Brenham, Kan. > > > > About 100 miles west of Wichita, the location is wellknown to > > meteorite > > hunters. A big one crashed there thousands of years ago, scattering 3 > > tons of fragments, according to the American Museum of Natural > > History. > > > > The Brenham site was presumed to have been tapped out long ago. > > > > But Arnold, who had been hunting for 13 years without a big score, > > decided to gamble on new technology and an informed hunch. > > > > He re-plotted the presumed path of the Brenham meteorite after > > concluding that an impression believed to be an impact crater was > > actually a "buffalo wallow," a low spot where the beasts would roll > > around in mud and water. At least, that's how the Macovich collection > > put it in a promotional release. > > > > Arnold was coy. > > > > Asked just what persuaded him there was more to be had from the > > site, he > > drummed his fingers nervously on a tabletop. Gaps stretched between > > his > > words. > > > > Arnold, who wears a "Meteorite Recovery Team" cap depicting a falling > > star, was equally circumspect about his current meteorite hunt. > > > > "Top secret," was all he said. > > > > Arnold and Phil Mani, a San Antonio lawyer and meteorite collector who > > bankrolled the Kansas search, bought the meteorite rights to several > > sections of farmland to protect any finds. > > > > Then Arnold started sweeping the field. > > > > Dragging a frame-mounted metal detector behind a fourwheeler, he > > listened through headphones for the telltale screech. > > > > His custom detector is sensitive to depths of 15 feet - sometimes too > > sensitive. Working his way through the wheat, he had to stop every 100 > > feet or so to dig. > > > > He unearthed a coyote trap, horse shoes, pliers and a ring for a > > bull's > > nose before he found his stone. > > > > On the heels of his discovery, scientists from the Houston Museum of > > Natural Science descended on the site. Using a ground-penetrating > > radar > > system developed to search for water on Mars, the team found a 154- > > pounder. > > > > The museum plans to feature it in its planned "Great Balls of Fire !" > > exhibit, said Carolyn Sumners, vice president for astronomy and > > physics. > > > > Arnold has had his meteorite on a tour of museums and exhibitions > > between Fort Worth and Kansas City during the two years since his > > discovery. Dragging it in a U-Haul behind his bright yellow Hummer, > > he's > > also made two trips to Tucson's annual gem and mineral show, a must-go > > for serious collectors and dealers. > > > > Arnold also has returned to Kansas. But the tornado that swept down > > the > > prairie last spring, killing 10 people and leveling Greensburg, > > damaged > > the house that he bought for his extended hunts. Then the city knocked > > it down as part of the cleanup. > > > > "My house survived the F-5 tornado," Arnold said, "but it didn't > > survive > > the Caterpillar D 5 bulldozer." As a full-time meteorite hunter, > > dealer > > and broker, he has traveled as far as the deserts of Oman. In the last > > year, he said, he prospected five new destinations. All were dry > > holes. > > "I'm at a crossroads," Arnold said. "A lot depends on what happens at > > the auction. Hopefully, it will fund me to do some other exotic > > stuff." > > Who will put up cash for a 1,400-pound meteorite? "I think many > > people, for the right price, would buy that rock," Sumners said. > > > > Derek Sears, director of the University of Arkansas Space Center, said > > museums have plenty of Brenham pieces already. But he agreed that > > Arnold's meteorite is "a very rare and very interesting type." Fewer > > than 1 percent of meteorites are pallasites - chunks of iron-nickel > > alloy containing olivine, the mineral that produces the > > semiprecious gem > > peridot. > > > > Pallasites have been selling between $ 5 and $ 20 a gram for small > > samples, said Max McCoy, an author who teaches journalism at Emporia > > (Kan.) State University and has followed Arnold's discovery for a book > > he's writing about the Brenham meteorite. It's impossible to > > extrapolate > > per-gram prices to a piece that weighs more than half a ton. > > > > "But what is indisputable," said McCoy, who plans to use the > > auction as > > the last chapter of the book, "is that these pallasites are worth > > quite > > a bit of money." > > > > Although Arnold has the largest stake in the meteorite, he is not the > > only one awaiting the auction with high hopes. > > > > Mani has a share, as does Allen Binford, the 78-year-old farmer who > > sold > > the rights to hunt for meteorites on his farm. > > > > Binford has thought he was close to a big payday before. At one of the > > Tucson shows, he recalled, "We had a meteorite guy there who looked at > > it, and he said, 'That's worth $22 million.' We told him we'd take a > > check anytime," he said, chuckling. > > > > Bonhams & Butterfields estimates the value at $ 630, 000-$ 700, 000, > > according to a release posted on the Macovich collection's Web site. A > > spokesman for Bonhams & Butterfields did not return calls for comment. > > > > Early on, Arnold embraced $ 1 million as a satisfying price. But he > > admits his shopping of the rock hasn't produced tangible results. > > > > "Suffice it to say, nobody's had an offer we were willing to take," he > > said. > > > > But he's confident it will find a buyer next month. Arnold has no idea > > who it might be. He's just hoping something big comes out of the blue. > > > > ______________________________________________ > > Meteorite-list mailing list > > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > > > ______________________________________________ > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list Received on Mon 24 Sep 2007 06:43:11 PM PDT |
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