Steve S., then Gregory:
I remember the aborted Southby's auction of three Martian meteorites a number of years ago. ...[snip]I was looking for the auction catalog, which was in my files, so my memory of the weights are in question.
I know I have that catalog at home, I'll take a look report when I get home from work.
As promised
The auction was presented by Guernsey's in N.Y., rather than Sotheby's, on Nov 20, 1996. It consisted of three frag's: 420 grams of crusted Zagami, 65 grams of crusted Nakhla, and (the star of the auction) 13.5 grams of Chassigny. The catalog was (he had to admit, through gritted teeth) gorgeously produced, with extensive Mars info and superior photography. It was also presented "in support of the American Cancer Society" (a "percentage of the funds", anyway), although no one would be blamed for skepticism with regard to the actual percentage. According to the catalog, Dr. Robert Hutchison of London's Natural History Museum was invited to be present at the auction preview, with the suggestion that the NHM would be "prepared to authenticate the SNC meteorite collection" after the fact. Of course, the actual authenticity of the material was never in doubt (presumably!); the NHM was certainly nothing but an innocent bystander to all this; no connection other than the prestige the name would clearly lend in the catalog. Certain liberties were definitely taken within the text of the catalog: "the only known comprehensive private collection of 'Meteorites from Mars'." (Although in all fairness, this was before the explosion of desert Mars-material, and essentially before a few specks of Chassigny leaked out and could be found here and there with any regularity. But still)
It was the enormous hype and the subsequent enormous pratfall that was the most memorable aspect of this (as it turned out) non-auction. Karma? ;-)
Gregory
