[meteorite-list] Don't delay, order today! - Suspect Auction-Suspect ID@!

From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:35:54 -0700
Message-ID: <93aaac890803312135y4b778360s5ea09c81b16d9ee_at_mail.gmail.com>

I said:

> The only slag that I've known to contain olivine was Seymchan, and
> there's some debate as to whether that was actually waste, or, in
> fact, a synthetic meteorite look-alike meant to confuse buyers.
> The fact that the stone contains olivine means that either:

*Not "Seymchan," but rather "Shirokovsky."

On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 9:31 PM, Jason Utas <meteoritekid at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Elton, All,
> Hardly; I just think it's stupid to rule any sample out completely
> without a lab analysis.
> There's no single feature on the stone being auctioned that would
> suggest that it is not, in fact, a fresh mesosiderite individual, and
> seeing as I am as qualified as you, if not better, to tell, I don't
> see how you can realistically argue.
> ...Or am I right:
>
> http://www.meteoriteguy.com/catalog/dong-ujimqin/520.9.htm
>
> The only slag that I've known to contain olivine was Seymchan, and
> there's some debate as to whether that was actually waste, or, in
> fact, a synthetic meteorite look-alike meant to confuse buyers.
> The fact that the stone contains olivine means that either:
>
> 1) Someone went out of their way to purchase pieces of yellowish
> olivine, and put it in some slag to fool potential buyers. Possible I
> suppose, but this seems unlikely.
>
> 2) A synthetic replacement such as glass could have been used, but the
> crystals pictured were not of a typical bottle colour, so some special
> source must have been used...or maybe they mixed brown and green?
> Either way, you're not looking at the typical scammer if they did take
> the trouble to figure out the colour that the olivine should have
> been. Furthermore, if they'd taken the time/trouble to figure out as
> much about meteorites, they would likely have figured out that their
> stone wouldn't sell on ebay as-listed. But I might be overestimating
> the seller. Or maybe slag typically contains large yellow-orange
> crystals...no.
>
> 3) (Your suggestion here.)
>
> 4) It is a meteorite.
>
> Honestly, Elton, have a look at that picture for yourself. The stones
> are very similar in texture, though the ebay stone appears as bit more
> oddly shaped. That said, the stone pictured on Michael Farmer's page
> is a fragment, and the stone on ebay appeared to be a complete,
> ablated individual. I assume that ablation would sculpt such a
> heterogeneous stone admirably.
> Jason
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 8:10 PM, Mr EMan <mstreman53 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Ha ha Funny... the Rorschach-Shroom Techinque of meteorite
> > identification...Down to confirming orange olivine crystals-- in a
> > mesosiderite no less--and fresh? It is fresh from the slag pile!
> >
> > I've got petrified frog poop that looks more like a meteorite then
> > this.
> >
> > Pleeease...this is an early April One-0 post, Right?
> >
> > Eman
> > --- Jason Utas <meteoritekid at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Olah All,
> > > Looks like a fresh mesosiderite. I know, the shape is odd - but have
> > > a look at fresh pieces of that Chinese mesosiderite fall Dong Umjim
> > > Qui...or however it's spelled...they look rather similar to this,
> > > though by the look of the orange crystals clearly visible on the
> > > surface of this stone, this one has more olivine in it.
> >
> >
> > > That said, it could also be an unusual piece of slag,<==gudanzer
> >
> > and I don't
> > > feel like betting $1k on such a strange piece from a questionable
> > > location...if I had more money, I might think otherwise.
> > > Regards,
> > > Jason
> > >
> > >
> > > On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 8:18 AM, Michael Murray
> > > <mmurray at montrose.net> wrote:
> > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120236513887
> >
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>
Received on Tue 01 Apr 2008 12:35:54 AM PDT