[meteorite-list] NWA 869

From: Warren Sansoucie <warren3174_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:03:50 -0500
Message-ID: <BAY132-W184BE39623FD0963F396B0D3C50_at_phx.gbl>

I completely agree with Mike. It IS one of my favorites. I have purchased a couple of pounds of "869" from a Moroccan dealer and have purchased several pounds stateside. Most of it when windowed doesn't compare. It's all good quality, just obvious that it isn't the same specimen. When I buy "869" even from IMCA dealers, I understand what the deal is. The fun in collecting this number , for me, is trying to visual compare the matrix with my existing collection. Often times I am very surprised. Some dealers would be wise , as Mike mentioned, to look into what they have as an unclassified regolith breccia can often times bring more than a NWA 869.
 
He's right about the tons part. I have a ton, lol.
 
I say collect it. One day we can all compare our weight values and realize how silly it is to call all that mass one fall.
 
Warren Sansoucie
IMCA 3174
St. Louis MO
 

> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:38:36 -0400
> From: meteoritemike at gmail.com
> To: miss_meteorite at yahoo.ca
> CC: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] NWA 869
>
> 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 07:03:50 PM PDT