[meteorite-list] Ebay heads up - Tissint/Scarborough

From: jason utas <jasonutas_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:29:24 -0800
Message-ID: <CAK837U2O+ojgPziCyieXfaesZ75DSzObUP-+Dbt7GOSmdEOghw_at_mail.gmail.com>

This went out to the IMCA list a day or so ago; since then, a little
more information has come to light -- please see below.
-----
Hello All,
As you may or may not know, a former IMCA member named John Bryan
Scarborough was found to be selling misrepresented material from at
least four different falls/finds (Mifflin, Ash Creek, Zunhua, and
Deport).

He recently changed his ebay username to lonestar*meteorites, and is
selling the following specimen of "Tissint."

http://www.ebay.com/itm/METEORITE-NEW-TISSINT-MARS-SHERGOTTITE-0-49g-100-CRUSTED-WITNESSED-7-18-2011-/280822837261?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416258700d#ht_500wt_1085

I've seen a significant portion of the stones from this fall, and know
for a fact that stones covered entirely in primary fusion crust are
extraordinarily rare, if not completely absent, from recovered finds.
Even pieces that have some primary fusion crust typically do not
resemble this above stone:

http://www.mhmeteorites.com/images/tata_0-81-1.jpg

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=360869963936731&set=o.162786720415331&type=1&theater

As you can see, the crust is thin enough to discern visible olivine
phenocrysts on the fragment showing primary crust, and all of the
other stones pictured are covered in glossy secondary crust that
looks rather different from the specimen on ebay.

The ebay auction linked to above *may* be of a real piece of Tissint,
but I am highly suspicious of it based on its appearance. The stone
pictured on ebay does not look like any of those stones, and instead
looks like a small complete Camel Donga.

http://www.rocksonfire.com/new_itempage-camel%20donga57.htm

Scarborough is offering another piece of Tissint on ebay, accompanied
by photographs that make it appear to be a specimen purchased from
Darryl Pitt:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/METEORITE-NEW-TISSINT-MARS-SHERGOTTITE-0-662-GRAMS-WITNESSED-FALL-7-18-2011-/280822579982?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416254830e#ht_500wt_1085

Which I point out only so that you all know that Scarborough is also
offering Tissint that is apparently real. However, since the small
individual I regard as highly suspect is not accompanied by such
photos, I would assume that it was not purchased from the same
source, and is thus less likely to be Tissint, given the seller's
history.

Since John Bryan's labels have been wrong in the past, if you insist
on purchasing specimens from him, I would suggest buying based only on
the appearance of what he sells. I can offer no other evidence to
suggest that the above stone is real or fake, but would add that I've seen
some 2.5 kilograms of Tissint in person, to say nothing of photographs.

Regards,
Jason

------

Darryl has since confirmed that the individual of "Tissint" being
offered did not come from him, though the fragment did; it doesn't
prove anything, but it makes me doubt the individual's authenticity
all the more.

The 27.2 gram slice of "Oum Dreyga" Brandon mentioned is also most
definitely an L-chondrite (L3/4-6 breccia, to include likely
possibilities).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OUM-DREYGA-H3-5-METEORITE-27-2-g-BEAUTIFUL-THICK-FUSION-CRUSTED-SLICE-/280805041109?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416148e3d5#ht_692wt_1070

The crust is too smooth and sand-blasted, the broken edges of the
slice are covered in caliche, and it's an L-chondrite. It's a nice
slice, but it's not Oum Dreyga.

In light of Brandon's recent post and the previous stuff...I really
don't have much else to say. Brandon's noted that the slice he
purchased from Scarborough was sold as "unclassified" while this new
slice is being offered as "Oum Dreyga." This rather points towards
Scarborough's being responsible for the errors, though it's still not
proof of fraud. All one could do is analyze the slice, confirm it is
(not) Oum Dreyga, and...prove what we already know, which is that he
has sold (and is selling) material that is mislabeled.

Does anyone have a solid contact at ebay? I've called them before
about things like this, but it doesn't seem to do much.

Regards,
Jason
Received on Tue 14 Feb 2012 05:29:24 AM PST