[meteorite-list] Who sold their collection to a pawn shop?

From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2020 09:33:49 -0500
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW8YhwTV3=oex_zXFRcqCdW0BGGJkRJRu442uKSfySprrQ_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi John and List,

I never thought to cross-reference these with the Met Bull. Good
detective work there. The numbers just don't add up. Something is
suspect there - or "sus" as the kids say now. LOL.

Occasionally you'll see these pawn brokers or antique/collectible
dealers offer a meteorite or two, but you don't often see an entire
collection of larger and more interesting pieces from a seller like
this. Meteorites clearly aren't their speciality, so the pawn shop is
just probably passing along whatever info came with the specimens when
they received them.

What strikes me is (you alluded to the same) is that a collection of
this size and quality is wasted on a pawn shop. Who takes a collection
like that to the corner pawn shop? The seller could have done a lot
better selling it first-hand to collectors and not going through a
pawn broker that is going to lowball you on the sale. I'd think that
any collector who built a collection like that would be savvier than
walking into a pawn shop and plopping them on the counter for a quick
sale.

But, who knows? Somebody might have needed money fast for legit
reason. Or, maybe they are stolen. Or maybe the story is stranger than
that. Just seeing all of those meteorites for sale by a pawn shop made
me curious. I've been watching them for a couple of weeks now, and
more specimens keep being offered.

Buyer beware.

Best regards,

MikeG

-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galactic Stone & Ironworks : www.galactic-stone.com
Meteorites, Ice Age Fossils, Minerals, and Artifacts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 12/1/20, John higgins <geohiggins at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hey Mike,
> Check out the Dar El Ghani 995 and examine the listed weights for the stone.
> Take into account the two photographed specimens in the encyclopedia of
> meteorites.
> https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=6535
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/46-5-G-Dar-al-Gani-995-Meteorite-Specimen-Main-Mass-Black-Fusion-Crust-DaG-995-/264951405461?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292
> Main mass of 46.5g and the bulletin says the type specimen weighs 11.2g .
> The tkw is listed as 56.12 This is a physical impossibility since the Pawn
> Shop shows a tkw of 57.62, more than the Meteoritical Bulletin shows exists,
> and that is not accounting for cutting loss and the 2 photographed
> specimens. Maybe the meteorites were purposely stripped of the provenance to
> hide something. Maybe they are stolen? Clearly someone is trying to get rid
> of them really fast. Buyers should be cautious, and the collection they are
> sourced from should be identified fast!!!
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/46-5-G-Dar-al-Gani-995-Meteorite-Specimen-Main-Mass-Black-Fusion-Crust-DaG-995-/264951405461?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292
>
> Have a great day,
> John Higgins
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>
>   On Mon, Nov 30, 2020 at 10:02 PM, Michael Gilmer via
> Meteorite-list<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com> wrote:   This eBay
> seller, Loyalty Pawn, has been offering some higher-end
> meteorites lately - many of them. These are not the typical meteorites
> you see occasionally offered by this type of seller. This is obviously
> somebody's collection being sold piecemeal. Does anyone know who this
> collection used to belong to? There are no hints to provenance in the
> listings.
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/613-Grams-Large-Howardite-NWA-3078-Meteorite-MAIN-MASS-Endcut-w-Crust/264959075664
>
> Best regards,
>
> MikeG
>
> --
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Galactic Stone & Ironworks : www.galactic-stone.com
> Meteorites, Ice Age Fossils, Minerals, and Artifacts
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Received on Tue 01 Dec 2020 09:33:49 AM PST