[meteorite-list] Trends with WI Fall and alike for July

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 12:22:55 -0400
Message-ID: <AANLkTimB7iuD20XtYHC2icCDeWqJm8bqTjJRvwWF7NVX_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Mike and List,

No, I did not mean that first buyers are all inexperienced or
impatient. Some are. Some are not. We all have different reasons
for acquiring certain meteorites and the "first on the block"
mentality appeals to many. If money was no concern for me, I would
all sizeable specimens of every fall I mentioned. But I must be very
careful with my funds - or my wife will kill me or the pantry will go
empty.

 Whetstone Mountains - the first recovered Arizona fall in nearly 100 years.
> Probably the most documented recovery in history. Very little available to
> collectors. Fireball captured on video.

Buzzard Coulee - first ever recovered fall in Saskatchewan. Fireball
captured on video to great effect. The TKW is vastly different, but
TKW should not be a factor in a fall being considered "historical"
(IMO) - if so, every tiny Antarctic fragment would have historical
significance despite not being witnessed. The prices for Buzzard are
much lower than Whetstone and the only difference is TKW - not
historical significance.

> Daule - the first and only Ecuadorian meteorite to ever be recovered.
> Obviously an historic event for Ecuador. Beautiful shock breccia. Under one
> kilo available to collectors.

Ok, I am schooled on this one. I did not recall that the TKW was less
than one kilo and I did not recall that it was Ecuador's first. I
think the price on Daule has remained high not because of it's
historical significance, but because the supply is tied up in the
hands of a very few dealers who have coordinated their prices -
essentially the price is fixed on Daule and the same could be argued
(true or not) for Whetstone.

> Wisconsin - the most covered fall in history. Witnessed by tens of thousands
> of people. Stunning breccia. Low recovered weight and horrible search/find
> ratio (much more expensive to find). The pre-rain, low-oxidized material
> will always hold a premium, because the contrast of the breccia is lost with
> oxidation. I believe this one will also be orbit calculated.

Like Ecuador, it is a beautiful breccia - but that is an aesthetic
concern. There are tons of gorgeous breccias on the market. NWA 788
is a gorgeous breccia but it sells for pennies compared to Daule, Ash
Creek, Peekskill or Wisconsin. Of course, I am comparing a NWA find
to a witnessed fall, but a pretty breccia is a pretty breccia, and
it's not rare. I am very eager to hear more about Wisconsin,
including the classification data and orbit if it is calculated. It
is odd that the TKW of Wisconsin will likely be much lower than Ash
Creek, yet already the Wisconsin prices are dropping faster than Ash
Creek did. Odd.

> For those of us who don't view things through the prisms of type or price,
> all meteorite falls and recoveries are special and significant events.

I agree here. These are truly amazing events and opportunities to
educate people about science. But I would remiss to ignore the
economic factors behind the valuation criteria. Whetstone Mountains
is a great fall and I do not mean to denigrate it in any way. But few
would argue that the promotional strategy behind that fall played a
significant role in it's market pricing. Schrader, Gheesling, Farmer
and others did a great job in promoting the highlights of this fall -
without that marketing machine, it may have faded into obscurity (and
the bargain bin) much quicker. Some would argue that it was not
"marketing" or "promotion" per-se, but perceptions cannot be ignored
and there is a perception that these forces were at work behind that
fall.

Best regards and happy huntings,

MikeG






On 7/1/10, Mike Bandli <fuzzfoot at comcast.net> wrote:
> Hello MikeG,
>
> Maybe you don't mean it, but your post implies that those that don't wait
> for some kind of price drop are inexperienced, impatient, or na?ve. This
> couldn't be further from the truth. Many of those that purchase immediately
> are just the opposite - experienced, long-time collectors. It has nothing to
> do with "being the first on the block to own it." In the case of Wisconsin,
> many wanted complete stones, which were few and far between. Many wanted
> pre-rain material. Whatever the reason, they are all good reasons, and
> everyone is happy.
>
> MikeG wrote: "Despite the marketing hype, there is little special about any
> of them beyond the significance the buyer attaches to them."
>
> I won't attach any significance to them, but will state the facts:
>
> Whetstone Mountains - the first recovered Arizona fall in nearly 100 years.
> Probably the most documented recovery in history. Very little available to
> collectors. Fireball captured on video.
>
> Daule - the first and only Ecuadorian meteorite to ever be recovered.
> Obviously an historic event for Ecuador. Beautiful shock breccia. Under one
> kilo available to collectors.
>
> Wisconsin - the most covered fall in history. Witnessed by tens of thousands
> of people. Stunning breccia. Low recovered weight and horrible search/find
> ratio (much more expensive to find). The pre-rain, low-oxidized material
> will always hold a premium, because the contrast of the breccia is lost with
> oxidation. I believe this one will also be orbit calculated.
>
> For those of us who don't view things through the prisms of type or price,
> all meteorite falls and recoveries are special and significant events.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Mike Bandli
>
> ----------------------------------------------
> Mike Bandli
> Historic Meteorites
> www.HistoricMeteorites.com
> IMCA #5765
> -----------------------------------------------
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Galactic
> Stone & Ironworks
> Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 7:26 AM
> To: Shawn Alan
> Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Trends with WI Fall and alike for July
>
> Hi Shawn and List,
>
> Perhaps I am off-base here, but I think we are witnessing (in part) a
> dynamic of collecting meteorites.
>
> New collectors are steadily entering this field/hobby and those who
> stay will mature and learn. Their knowledge of meteoritics,
> collecting, and the market will increase with their experience. What
> we saw with Ash Creek is different than what we are seeing now with
> Wisconsin because the greater collector market is maturing. Perhaps
> now we are in-between the influx crowds of newbies and the majority of
> current collectors are becoming more savvy in their purchases. One of
> the first lessons about falls that newbies learn is patience. It's
> the same with most things - the first person on the block to have a
> thing, pays much more for that thing. So the rest of the people sit
> back and wait for the price to come down - which it usually does.
> Those who wanted to be the first on the block to own Wisconsin now
> have it, and now the rest of us are waiting to get a better price.
> The new and inexperienced will rush out to pay top dollar for a common
> chondrite because it is exciting to them, regardless of the petrologic
> type or circumstances of the fall. Perhaps the "Class of Ash Creek"
> has graduated and now we are seeing the benefits of patience, rational
> assessment, and experience.
>
> Of course, this could change in a moment when the second season of
> Meteorite Men starts and a new flock of eager beginners discovers
> meteorites. Or when the next brilliant fireball goes viral on
> YouTube.
>
> I still don't own a sizeable specimen of Ash Creek, Whetstone
> Mountains, Daule, or Wisconsin and I won't until the right price comes
> along. Those falls just don't fit into my collecting scheme - because
> they are ordinary chondrites that fell under ordinary circumstances
> (for the most part). Despite the marketing hype, there is little
> special about any of them beyond the significance the buyer attaches
> to them. Do any of the above have the makings of a truly "historical"
> fall - maybe, maybe not. Are they rare types? No. I'm not trying to
> downplay any of these falls, but I think few would argue that these
> falls were well worth the prices they were introduced at.
>
> Best regards,
>
> MikeG
>
> On 7/1/10, Shawn Alan <photophlow at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Hello Listers,
>>
>> I have noticed with the Livingston WI meteorite Fall in April that the
>> prices were at a good high, well over $100 a gram for the first month
> being
>> sold on eBay and alike. And then a rush happened over night with a few
>> sellers on eBay and the meteorite market and it was mayhem. However, in
> the
>> past few weeks I have noticed prices dropping low, and I mean low. Tonight
>> on eBay a WI slice weighing at 3.8 sold at $78 and another slice at 9.66g
>> sold at $285.
>>
>> With other recent falls they tend to stay high for the first year from
> what
>> I have seen with sales and research, but with the WI fall this isn't the
>> case. I am left to wondering why is it with this fall that it had a great
>> led in sales in the first month and dropped so low in less then 2 months,
>> not to mention the lack of WI meteorites found in the field? Is it that
>> majority of the WI fall meteorites are being sold at a recorded high
> weight,
>> dealers selling the big boys all at once?
>>
>> I see that this coming month that sales with historic falls will keep
> going
>> up and the exchange of rare and special meteorite falls will be revisited
>> for the fact of the rich history they command in the market and with
>> collectors alike. Also not to mention, the new NWAs that keep popping up
>> will bring a new twist to the collecting world. All I can say is history
>> repeats its self and history can out weigh anything through and through
>> again while trends come and go. Hold on and lets see what July brings for
>> the hot summer month to cool our needs for meteorites.
>>
>> Shawn Alan
>> IMCA 1633
>> eBaystore
>>
> http://shop.ebay.com/photophlow/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p
> 4340
>> ______________________________________________
>> 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
>>
>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
> http://www.galactic-stone.com
> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> ______________________________________________
> 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
>
>

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
------------------------------------------------------------

Received on Thu 01 Jul 2010 12:22:55 PM PDT