December 31, 2001
Greetings Meteorite Enthusiasts!
I know a whole book worth of discussion has been
written about the meteor-wrong plight already,
including some sound advice recently which may be
enough to settle the matter for hopefully a long
while.
Nevertheless, I have a few thoughts on the matter too
that I hope will help end these bothersome
predicaments. Due to the large volume of input on
this subject, though, please forgive me if I'm
repeating something that has already been voiced.
While an association of meteorite collectors and
dealers with a logo of authenticity is not a bad idea,
I do think that such action could be edging on the
extreme. Rather, I think the problem could be partly
solved by the simple assistance of the Meteoritical
Society. That organization has been an invaluable
help to the scientist, dealer, and collector, and if
it wasn't for their founding, the meteorite trade
today would be a disorderly mess. In fact, The
Meteoritical Society reminds me very much of Carolus
Linnaeus, the Father of Modern Classification, in
which he brought order to the naming of plants and
animals by the use of his still renown binomial
nomenclature system. Thus, seeing how beneficial the
society is and the great influence it has on
meteorites officially named by them, I suggest that
dealers on ebay and elsewhere fully execute the
advantage they have. If one of you are selling a 34.2
g piece of Norton County for example, make sure to
include a prominent notice on your auction or web site
stating something like: "This meteorite has been
officially named and approved by the Nomenclature
Committee of the Meteoritical Society." A link also
could be added when possible to the society's archives
(with permission) where the meteorite as been
mentioned. I have looked through ebay's rules, and
nothing was cited against this to my knowledge.
This notice should be of a standard design or font, to
make it fully effective in thwarting the unscrupulous
who have nothing to back up their claims with other
than their word, a possible newspaper clipping, or the
like. In another words, something similar to the logo
idea previously suggested but without all the extra
work and strain of setting up an association and web
site. It is an idea which can be implemented quite
quickly and by everyone.
However, it is possible that some of the unscrupulous
may catch on and fraudulently label a meteor-wrong
that they are selling as having been authenticated or
otherwise approved by an "association" that no one on
this list has ever heard of before. This, I think
should not be worried about too much though, since
very likely such a thing will not last for long, at
least not with all the unwavering attention given to
ebay by some of the dedicated on this list!
As for all of the genuine, unnamed desert meteorites
for sale, one should state prominently where they have
been authenticated, and if possible, include any
supporting material and even a link to the
authenticator(s)' web sites. One good thing about
this area of the meteorite market, though, is the
apparent fact that most scrupulous and misinformed
meteor-wrong sellers are not astute enough in this
field to label their merchandise, NWA's or the like.
Thus, there may not be as big as problem as some may
suggest --- at least for now.
Also, like already indicated by other members on the
list, offering to help potential meteorite buyers or
otherwise new collectors may win you their loyalty and
in turn their friendship and/or dedicated patronage.
Thus, they will learn early to stay away from the
shady side of the meteorite market. This type of
courtesy, by the way, is commonly encountered in the
coin collecting hobby, offered by many coin
enthusiasts who are more than happy to educate
beginners.
In conclusion, this amount of advice will not hinder
all the meteor-wrong sellers out there, nor will it
block the unscrupulous meteorite dealer who does sell
real space rocks. It will, however, cause another
step to be taken in stunting the pestilence that
exists, which is present in just about every other
hobby, including coin collecting.
Long strewn fields!
Mark Fox
Newaygo, MI USA
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