The Olympia Fields gentleman whose lawn this stone fell into returned to town more than a week after the fall. When he got back, he saw a hole in his front yard, along with a "whole bunch" of stone chips in his driveway. He assumed the city parks department, which was maintaining a park nearby, had left this mess on his property. So he swept up and threw away the stone chips (yes, this is painful, I know!), and called the city to come repair his lawn.
The workers dug up the hole, found the meteorite, and recognized it for what it was. Then, amazingly enough, they knocked on his door, gave it back to him, told him they thought it was a meteorite and likely worth a lot of money, and went on their way. He called me a little while after that, said he thought he had a meteorite, and wondered if I could verify that's what it was. I'd received hundreds of such inquiries, with only a few of them proving to be meteorites, so I was doubtful. But when he gave me his address, which was right at the high mass end of the strewnfield, and described the stone, I had a suspicion his rock might be the real thing. When I got a chance to examine it in person, it was unmistakable. Quite rusted from spending two weeks in soggy sod, yes, but a genuine Park Forest meteorite. I took some photos and weighed it, then took him and the stone down to the Field Museum, where their meteorite collections manager (at the time) examined it herself. I walked the gentleman back to his car, advised him that while his meteorite was of significant scientific interest, it was also quite valuable to collectors (museum ethics forbids me from giving specific appraisals). I made sure he understood that since the meteorite fell on his property, he legally owned the meteorite, and that no other public or private organizations had a claim on it. He asked if I could recommend a meteorite dealer, but museum ethics similarly forbid me from recommending a specific dealer. I referred him to IMCA, and also said he could simply Google "meteorite dealer". He left, and I never heard any more from him. If someone has subsequently dealt with the owner, and knows more about what happened to the stone, I'd be interested in hearing about it. Best regards, Mark --- On Sun, 3/27/11, Michael Gilmer <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Michael Gilmer <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Park Forest Main Mass > To: "e-mail ensoramanda" <[email protected]> > Cc: [email protected] > Date: Sunday, March 27, 2011, 9:04 AM > Hi Graham, Bill, and List, > > That was my initial reaction as well. I have never > previously seen > the photos that Bill posted, and I was expecting velvety > black crust > as well. This stone looks like it has seen better > days. > > I'd be curious to hear more about the circumstances of it - > where it > was found, when, etc. > > Best regards and happy huntings, > > MikeG > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites > > Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com > Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone > News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516 > Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone > EOM - http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564 > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > On 3/27/11, e-mail ensoramanda <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Just wondering why the Park Forest Main mass looks old > and weathered > > in the photograph? > > > > Was it found much later. I was expecting to see > fresh crust and > > matrix. I would never have guessed it was Park > Forest. > > > > Graham, UK > > > > On 27 March 2011 09:38, Steve Witt <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Bill, > >> > >> Was wondering if you any other detail of this main > mass. Finder? Location? > >> Date of find? etc. > >> > >> thanx, > >> Steve > >> > >> > >> Steve Witt > >> IMCA #9020 > >> http://imca.cc/ > >> > >> > >> --- On Sat, 3/26/11, bill kies <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> > >>> From: bill kies <[email protected]> > >>> Subject: [meteorite-list] Park Forest Main > Mass > >>> To: [email protected] > >>> Date: Saturday, March 26, 2011, 9:44 PM > >>> > >>> Thanks to Mark Hammergren, we have images of > the Park > >>> Forest main mass. At least, the largest one I > know of. 5260 > >>> grams. > >>> > >>> http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y249/razor_wire/pfmainedit.jpg > >>> > >>> http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y249/razor_wire/pfmmedit.jpg > >>> > >>> http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y249/razor_wire/pfmainedit2.jpg > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Bill > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > ______________________________________________ > >>> Visit the Archives at > >>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > >>> Meteorite-list mailing list > >>> [email protected] > >>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > >>> > >> > >> > >> > >> ______________________________________________ > >> Visit the Archives at > >> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > >> Meteorite-list mailing list > >> [email protected] > >> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > >> > > ______________________________________________ > > Visit the Archives at > > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > > Meteorite-list mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > > > > -- > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
