[meteorite-list] Most expensive meteorites!

From: Martin Altmann <altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:29:03 +0200
Message-ID: <002301cb38db$7061ec10$5125c430$_at_de>

Well Ed,

at least the quality of a meteorite is mainly defined by hard physical and
measurable criteria in standardized processes.
Take the NWAs which as orphans all are relatively uncontaminated by
terrestrial history, anecdotes, fashions, interpretations.
There you'll find, that a W0 or W1 fresh H5 always will be paid better than
a W3 or W4 H5, that an eucrite is better paid then an ordinary chondrite and
so on.

Of course, they aren't free from fashions too. With the Allende and
Murchison jubilee years e.g. there came a higher demand for carbonaceous
ones. With all the space missions to and around Mars, Martians are again
very popular.

And of course aesthetic aspects partially are also taken in consideration,
if a collector evaluates a meteorite.

In as far, I think, there are other criteria ruling in price-finding in
meteoritics than in arts.

With meteorites with names instead of numbers, I think it's roughly the same
as with stamp collectors (stamps are in principle colourful pictures on
paper). There the main criterion is (not the rareness, but) the
availability.

And then we have fashions.
Hammers e.g., new falls with big media attention, irons with holes,
specimens of a certain pedigree, or on a smaller scale, meteorites which
certain properties, which are topic of actual discussions in fora, articles
ect.
 - these fashions indeed are often very variable.


Best!
Martin
 

-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
Von: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] Im Auftrag von Ed
Majden
Gesendet: Dienstag, 10. August 2010 23:29
An: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Betreff: [meteorite-list] Most expensive meteorites!

        This confirms my impression of collectors! They are NUTS! I don't

single out meteorite collectors but all collectors. Let us look at
art as an example. If a painting by a famous artist sells for big
bucks and later it turns out to be a fake it is nearly worthless
again. It has nothing to do with the quality of the painting but who
actually is the so called famous painter. The Ottawa art community,
government, if I recall correctly paid big bucks for three stripes
painted on a couple of sheets of plywood. Several people said they
would duplicate this so called famous painting at a fraction of the
cost, but there were no takers. Collectors and their vanity proves
they are all NUTS! I have something you don't have! ;-) Meteorites
should be about what they do for science and Not scarcity!
Ed Majden
Courtenay B.C.
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Received on Tue 10 Aug 2010 06:29:03 PM PDT