Hello to all,
May I share an experience I had yesterday afternoon that saddened me and left
me questioning the merits of sensationalizing the trade in meteorites.
I recently began inserting a free announcement in a nationally read online
list stating simply that "I BUY METEORITES". Included in the announcement are
some simple qualifying tests that I hope will weed out most of the "wrongs". I
advise that if it turns out that you have a meteorite I will charge you $25.00
for the initial examination and I will help you get it confirmed and classified
if you wish. If the find is terrestrial I will not charge any fee and I will
suggest you get a second opinion.
Well, this has worked out pretty well. I've had a half dozen calls in the last
six weeks and several of those have resulted in "finds". One particular 100
gram individual has already been classified as a rare type and I was able to
secure a nice slice for my collection.
Then this happened. I received a call from a young woman who said she was in a
neighboring State and had traded all she had for over a hundred pounds of
"irons" and wanted to know how much were they "going for". She used a few
meteoritical terms to proudly describe her acquisitions, but I could tell she
had gotten whatever she had learned from whatever source a bit wrong. She
talked fast and excitedly saying her meteorites were "really heavy and
magnetic". She insisted she had studied and knew they were meteorites. All of
them.
She went on to say that she had sold her fifth wheel trailer in Quartsite,
Arizona and the man who bought it was a "rock dealer" and had suggested she
trade everything in the travel trailer for these "meteorites". She now wanted
to cash in and would I be interested. She said she would meet me in a few days,
but low and behold she arrived the next afternoon.
Now picture this. It was 112 degrees when she and her husband and five kids,
ages three months to thirteen, arrive in a beat up Chevy truck with all their
possessions stacked up in the back. And no air conditioning. After I dispensed
bottles of water and got the tribe into the shade, she excitedly announced
let's look at the meteorites and ordered her quiet and unassuming husband to
lug the boxes and briefcases out from under the stroller and baby food into my
garage.
The instant the first of the samples were lovingly laid out on my bench it was
apparent to me they were terrestrial rocks. She had at least fifty pounds of
"slag" and even large and small chunks of basalt and sandstone. She picked up
the rocks one after the other for me to admire while all the while chattering
inanely about how they were "stony iron" or "irons" and pointing out features
to prove her identification and get me interested.
I finally stopped her selling pitch by recommending we cut a few. I cut a dozen
of the best prospects which all turned out to be terrestrial. I decided I would
have to tell her as tactfully as I could. I went and selected some "rights" and
"wrongs" from my collection and proceeded to teach a little meteorite
identification 101. It didn't take long for her to realize that she didn't have
any meteorites.
I told her how sorry I was, and that I wanted her to have meteorites, and would
have been pleased to do business with her. But it unfortunately wasn't the
case. She and her husband looked stricken. She said " I gave everything we
had." I mentioned that she should not take my opinion and get a second opinion.
I suggested some other collectors and dealers. I also gave her the URLs for a
couple illustrated meteor identification sites.
After we had loaded the rocks back in the bed of the pickup I asked how she had
become aware of the desirability of meteorites and where did she get her "off
the wall" ideas of their value. She said she had watched most of the episodes
of "Meteorite Men".
This little drama says something....I have my own opinion....anyone else like
to opine?
Count Deiro
IMCA 3536 MetSoc
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