[meteorite-list] [IMCA] End of an Era - The California fall.
From: David R Childs <david.childs7_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 2 May 2012 16:40:32 +0100 Message-ID: <06218F6C9E814607B703A2781235BB1D_at_user85620c2ece> Amen to that Geoff! or........C'est la Vie! David R Childs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Aerolite Business" <biz at aerolite.org> To: "IMCA List" <imca at imcamail.de> Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 10:56 PM Subject: Re: [IMCA] End of an Era - The California fall. > Dear Guido: > > As a relative newcomer to the field I feel you are basing your doom- > and-gloom prophesy on recent events only, without looking at the big > picture. You may not be aware of the fact that -- in nearly all cases > -- the price of meteorites has been rising *steadily* for as long as > there has been a market for them. There are, however, exceptions: In > 1998 I saw Zagami sell for $1,700/gram; two years ago I saw it (not > selling) for $400/gram. > > In the late 1960s you could acquire a beautiful Canyon Diablo with a > hand-painted H.H. Nininger number for dollars a pound. In the late > 1990s, the few existing wholesale dealers could barely find buyers for > stunning sculpted Gibeons at $35/kilo. Now it's $500/kilo if you're > very lucky, and the price has gone up incrementally every year; a > result of supply and demand, not because of some sort of "media > sensation." The same thing has happened with space memorabilia, > military history artifacts, transportation memorabilia, and probably > every other collectible of which there is a limited supply. > > While I agree with you that that there are many more amateurs out in > the field looking for the California fall -- no argument there, it's > obvious -- how much would an example of Mighei cost you today, if you > could find one? I wouldn't be surprised if it was pretty close to > $1,000 a gram. I wouldn't pay $1,000 for a little scrap of this new > fall; I'd much rather have a a multi-kilo Campo del Cielo, but that's > me. Some collectors will be ecstatically happy to pay up for a > witnessed fall American carbonaceous chondrite, and god bless 'em. > Every collector's passion is different. > > There are more meteorite collectors today than at any time in history. > Value is primarily determined by rarity and I am quite sure you > appreciate how rare meteorites are. The Internet is primarily > responsible for growth in the popularity of meteorites, as are books > like the excellent "Rocks from Space," my television show, and the > frequent high-profile natural history auctions by I.M. Chait, > Heritage, and other houses. In the pre-Internet days it was extremely > difficult to connect with other collectors; you might happen upon > Blaine Reed's small ad in "Astronomy" magazine, or find a rock shop > that carried a couple of modest specimens, but there was no meteorite > community. The Internet made it possible for enthusiasts to find one > another, and the field blossomed -- very rapidly -- between 1997 and > the early 2000s. That was *way* before any significant media interest. > > Increased awareness means more finds, and at least ten important new > meteorites (that I know of) have come to light as a direct result of > my TV show and other media attention. That's a good thing. New finds > will continue to be made and new collectors will continue to come into > the fold. Meteorite collecting is no longer a weird niche market that > nobody has heard of. > > Love it or leave it, but there's no point in grousing about it. Cool > things become popular. That's just the way it goes. > > > Geoff Notkin > > www.aerolite.org > www.meteoritemen.com > www.meteorites.co Received on Wed 02 May 2012 11:40:32 AM PDT |
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