[meteorite-list] NWA 869

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:38:36 -0400
Message-ID: <AANLkTililBiH6DUa62o-ape8TgKuGPfsnFWxT8dnupBQ_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Melanie,

Here is the gist of the NWA 869 situtation :

NWA 869 is a HUGE find. There are literally TONS of this stuff laying
around and in circulation. Think about that for a minute. Metric
tons. The Met Bulletin says 2 metric tons, but you can bet the total
is higher. Now, take a kilogram of small to medium sized NWA 869
stones and take a look at how many fragments and individuals that is -
depending on the piece size, a kilogram can have dozens or hundreds of
pieces. So, there are probably tens of thousands of "NWA 869
meteorites" out there. The NWA 869 strewnfield is in the open desert
and it's wide open to anyone brave enough to cross into parts of
Algeria. Nomads have been bringing stones out of that region of the
desert for a long long time. In effect, NWA 869 is a potential
nightmare of accountability.

NWA 869 has a relatively distinctive look to it - on the outside (not
so much) and on the inside. If you took an NWA 869 stone and randomly
mixed it into a 2 kilogram batch of unclassified stony material of
similar size, I bet you most experienced collectors and dealers could
pick out the 869 individual. I know I could. Of course, there are
quite a few meteorites (classified or not) that resemble 869 on the
outside, so windowing the stone will usually determine whether a
suspect is an imposter or 869. So it is very tempting for some
collectors and dealers to self-classify or self-pair a stone as NWA
869. And that is the problem right there. As we have seen on this
List again and again, one cannot accurately determine what a specimen
is by simply looking at it or handling it. One must run definitive
tests on it, with proper lab equipment and conducted by qualified
persons - the majority of these tests and skills are outside the
domain of even the most advanced laymen. Having said that, it's
impossible for a person like myself to positively determine a pairing
based on what I have available to me - no matter how smart or lucky I
might be. And I think any dealer or collector who has an interest in
maintaining the integrity of their collection (or offerings) would
never sell or offer a self-paired specimen.

Honestly, I think the problem of NWA 869 is overstated. Good quality
unclassified material that could mimic NWA 869 is just as expensive as
869 - sometimes more so. There is no real financial incentive to take
unclassified material and offer it as NWA 869. It does not increase
the value - especially as time goes on and quality unclassified stones
get more scarce/expensive.

Instead, I think the opposite takes place on occasion - people could
take NWA 869 stones and sell them as unclassified material. This
might actually increase their value because the buyer will have the
hope that the material may turn out to be a type that is more rare
than 869. I have bought bulk lots of unclassified material and I have
found stones that I strongly suspect were NWA 869. Whether or not
their inclusion was intentional or not is probably doubtful, because I
trust my sources. And yes, I sold those suspect stones as
unclassifieds and not 869, despite my relatively surety of their
nature - because I could not be 100% sure without a lab.

Keep in mind that there are pairings of 869 in the NWA catalogue and
nobody probably knows for sure just how many pairings there really
are, because 869 shows different lithologies.

So with all of this doubt surrounding 869, some dealers simply stay
away from it.

I don't. I like it. It's not one of my favorites, but I do have it.
It's a pretty meteorite that is great for educational or outreach use
- it looks like a meteorite should and it's cheap enough to be
generous with. I give away a lot of NWA 869 to newbies, and I have
had others give me free NWA 869.

So there you have it. My 2 cents on NWA 869. Actual worth may vary. ;)

Best regards,

MikeG


On 6/23/10, Melanie Matthews <miss_meteorite at yahoo.ca> wrote:
> Hey listees.
>
> What is the problem with buying and selling NWA 869? or have i misunderstood
> something?
>
> Thanks
>
> -----------
> Melanie
> IMCA: 2975
> eBay: metmel2775
> Known on SkyRock Cafe as SpaceCollector09
>
> Unclassified meteorites are like a box of chocolates... you never know what
> you're gonna get!
>
>
>
>
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-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
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Received on Wed 23 Jun 2010 06:38:36 PM PDT