Anybody want to take a look to compare.... >From ebay - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1081837462
>From ASU - http://meteorites.asu.edu/rose.htm Tom Perry By the way I am not Tom Topaz > March 18, 2002 > > > Greetings Meteorite Enthusiasts! > > Long time no type, I must agree! Since the advent of > Lent, I decided to cut back on using the computer > except for work and special matters, which excludes > Sundays, of course. > > But now, someone has opened up an interesting > discussion concerning one of my favorite meteorites > --- Rose City. Since I am still intently searching > the area in my county (Newaygo) for a Michigan > meteorite, it so happens that I like to learn > everything I can about the fascinating specimens and > rumors of meteorites that have been found in the > state. This has boiled down in a way to include > keeping track of such meteorites that are being > offered for sale. > > Tom, or his ebay User ID: topaz.mineral.expl is the > only person I have so far come across that ever sells > Michigan meteorites on ebay, which according to his > auctions, is also the only source I know of for the > rare Rose City H5 chondrite (fall, 1921), Grand Rapids > IRANOM octahedrite (find, 1883), and Seneca Township > fine octahedrite (find, 1923). As of recent, it > appears that he has put up a lot of Michigan meteorite > pieces for bid, including the big chunk (28.7g) of > what he calls Rose City; the cause of current > questioning. Despite that, that particular auction > evidently caused some hearty bidding and ended a > little while ago. > > When I first started visiting his auctions, I was > dumfounded that a person was actually selling Michigan > meteorites, of which I am gathering, are not very > commonly offered for sale! This prompted me to > finally ask him where he was able to get such a big > and handsome piece of Rose City and Allegan, which at > the time referred to large sized samples from both > falls. He e-mailed me back (Thursday, September 20, > 2001) and writes in part of the letter: > > "This is the third or fourth piece of the Rose City > that I have had for sale over the past several years, > although this is by far the best. They are all from > my personal collection acquired over the past 35 years > (I have been a mineral dealer since 1977). On ebay I > have offered specimens of almost all of the Michigan > falls and finds." > > In any event, I must agree with the questions raised > about the pictures he has displayed in his ebay > auctions. They do seem to contrast noticeably with > the first picture I had glanced of Rose City, the > beautiful one pictured on the Arizona State University > web site. > > The link to the picture is at: > http://meteorites.asu.edu/rose.htm > > Perhaps this distinct difference is due to what Bern > doubtfully inferred at the end of his e-mail about the > subject --- a light-colored clast. Of course, one > would more likely agree with Bern's other conclusions, > and dismiss the clast theory altogether, since all the > other Rose City pieces I have seen by Tom exhibit (at > least mostly if not entirely) the same texture and > color as his most recent piece. Still, don't always > cling to what seems to be the obvious or "easy" > conclusion and be carried away with one's > extrapolations, of which even I am at fault with (and > not to say that Bern was). In this case, such a hasty > conclusion would translate into the 28.7 gram chunk of > rock labeled as Rose City as not being one in the same > when shown with definitive Rose City material. At > this point negative extrapolation would take over. > > Now with that said, here is a theory (expanded from > Bern's) that should be given some thought. From the > pieces professionally examined, Rose City is looked > upon as one highly shocked chunk of space rock, with > an S6 designation! Perhaps this meteorite, > unbeknownst to the majority of meteorite enthusiasts > due in part to its rarity, is composed of two distinct > meteorite materials cemented together, so much so that > perhaps a better term needs to be used--- a > mesoclastic-breccia if you will. Therefore, possibly > only certain section(s) of Rose City were ever sampled > for sale and/or for study which involved revealing the > brutally brecciated black matrix we commonly associate > with Rose City, and only a small percentage of the > lighter "peaceful" matrix that went unnoticed. > > In conclusion, I do not detect deceit by Tom, but > question his Rose City picture like a cautious > potential bidder should. In his new Seneca Township > ebay auction which I believe is still going on, it > should be noted that he has taken the effort to > correct a mistake regarding the location where the > iron was found. > > If you would like to response to me privately or have > a question, etc., your best bet for an answer is to > use this e-mail for the next few weeks: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Please forgive me for errors if any are present in > this letter. > > Long strewn fields! > > Mark Fox > Newaygo, MI USA > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage > http://sports.yahoo.com/ > > ______________________________________________ > Meteorite-list mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
