[meteorite-list] Russian meteorites-- don't take them for granite!

From: Jeff Grossman <jgrossman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:24:27 -0500
Message-ID: <4B75B8FB.5090509_at_usgs.gov>

Darryl is definitely on the right track. It is not the country of final
export that is an issue for many museums. It is the history of the
specimen before that, tracing back to the point of origin. The
uncertainty over whether a meteorite may have been removed illegally
from a country, or removed from a country under trade restrictions, is
the problem. Museums are incredibly sensitive about such issues.
Basically, for most NWAs, they worry that they do not know who the real
legal owner is.

Jeff

On 2010-02-12 3:01 PM, Adam Hupe wrote:
> One just has to take into account where the rumors originated and for what purpose. I will leave it alone at that as Martin has done a thorough job explaining this . The bottom line is that this issue was brought up in a public forum in Morocco itself and no laws prohibiting the export of meteorites were forthcoming. Besides, NWA material is in just about every type specimen repository in the world and in several prominent natural history museums.
>
> Adam
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Darryl Pitt<darryl at dof3.com>
> To: Adam Hupe<raremeteorites at yahoo.com>
> Cc: Adam<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Fri, February 12, 2010 11:47:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Russian meteorites-- don't take them for granite!
>
>
>
> Mmhmm....I highly doubt the Smithsonian is unable to make a determination of law or conducts business by prevailing rumors.
>
> Anyway......
>
> Good weekend / d,
>
>
> On Feb 12, 2010, at 2:32 PM, Adam Hupe wrote:
>
>
>> Hi Darryl and List,
>>
>> I do not know why the Smithsonian seems to have a problem with NWA, you will have to ask them. I do know they have accepted some NWA material into there collection as a donation. I asked two different curators and got two varying opinions nether of which suggested they were illegal. It may be that they are overly cautious, cannot find any laws regarding them or simply listen to rumors. A simple call to the Moroccan embassy should straighten it out.
>>
>> Best Regards,
>>
>> Adam
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Darryl Pitt<darryl at dof3.com>
>> To: Adam Hupe<raremeteorites at yahoo.com>
>> Cc: Adam<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>> Sent: Fri, February 12, 2010 11:04:55 AM
>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Russian meteorites-- don't take them for granite!
>>
>>
>> Hi Adam....
>>
>> Hoping all is well...
>>
>> If the issue below was as clear-cut as suggested, why then does Smithsonian policy prohibit the acquisition of planetary NWAs? My impression, and I could be mistaken, is that the country of export (Morocco) is less relevant than the countries in the NWA corridor from where said objects were first recovered.
>>
>> Anyway.....
>>
>> All best / Darryl
>>
>> ========
>>
>>
>>
>> On Feb 12, 2010, at 1:18 PM, Adam Hupe wrote:
>>
>>
>>> It makes no difference whatsoever whether a meteorite is classified or not when originating from Northwest Africa as far as legalities go. People who spread the rumor that the export of meteorites from Morocco are illegal seem to have an agenda. A dealer once tried to make it so you needed a special permit but this failed. I believe this was to get an exclusive on material coming out of NWA as this would have served as an effective roadblock to others.
>>>
>>> The truth is simple: It is completely legal to obtain meteorites from Morocco, period!
>>>
>>> All the best,
>>>
>>> Adam
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>> From: Carl 's<carloselguapo1 at hotmail.com>
>>> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> Sent: Fri, February 12, 2010 9:33:18 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Russian meteorites-- don't take them for granite!
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Adam, Carl, Peter, All,
>>>
>>> That's strange. This is the second time in three weeks I've heard the NWAs were illegal. At least I think what was meant was the unclassified NWAs are. Adam, would that make any difference?
>>>
>>> Carl2
>>>
>>>
>>> Adam wrote:
>>>
>>>> NWA material has been thoroughly checked out by several museums and does not
>>>>
>>> present any problem whatsoever...
>>>
>>> Carl E. wrote:
>>>
>>>> With all due respect to you. What on Earth is this supposed to mean?
>>>>
>>> "dangers of the NWA market."?...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>> Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft.
>>> http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469230/direct/01/
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
>

-- 
Dr. Jeffrey N. Grossman       phone: (703) 648-6184
US Geological Survey          fax:   (703) 648-6383
954 National Center
Reston, VA 20192, USA

Received on Fri 12 Feb 2010 03:24:27 PM PST