Fake??

[NovaNapoleon]

Hi!

I received a "meteorite excavation kit" for Christmas. I suspect that the two rocks inside are fake. I think they are hematite for the following reasons:

#1 They don't cling to a magnet very strongly. The largest rock won't even stay on the magnet. I can barely feel a pull to the magnet. The smaller one will stay on the magnet by itself but barely.

#2 They fail the meteorite streak test. They both have a red streak.

#3 They are not heavier than a regular earth rock of the same size.

Perhaps some meteorite hunters can view the photo and let me know what you think?

http://www.angelfire.com/tx/amko/rock01.jpg

Thanks!

 

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[golden sluice]

All meteorite s are radio active, if you can gain acess to a geiger counter... it will tell you. Now try finding a geiger counter.

 

[JohnnyFlake]

IMHO, they look like plain Hot Rock, certainly not meteorites.

 

[NovaNapoleon]

Thanks for the replies!

Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks they're fake. I've emailed the company that sells them. So far they've only asked for the tracking # on the box and a photo (which I sent). Haven't heard back from them yet.

 

[NovaNapoleon]

sigh....heard back from the makers of the kit. They still claim the rocks are real but I don't think so....

Anyone else care to give me their opinion This is what the maker of the product had to say about it:

Hematite is often mistaken for meteorite. We do source meteorites however and not hematite to put in our excavation kits and would never try to mislead customers by providing false information. Please consider these points:

1. There are a few different types of meteorite. This particular meteorite is not iron meteorite. It is stone meteorite which is a more common type. Iron meteorite will not leave a streak, however the streak test is best used to identify iron meteorite. It is not a guaranteed method in testing other meteorites as oxidation occurs and stones can leave a rust color streak. One would need to create a window section on the stone to perform the test.

2. Concerning the weight, stone meteorite is not as dense as iron meteorite. With smaller pieces of meteorite (like in our excavation kit) it may be more difficult to feel the difference between that and an average earth rock of the same size. Especially since some pieces may not contain as much iron (which makes it heavier) as other pieces.

3. The magnetic attraction goes back to the iron present in pieces also. The more iron present the stronger the attraction will be. Again the meteorite we have does have magnetic attraction.

Based on what I've read about meteorites, point number 2 is false. It should be heavier than an earth rock. And point number 3: is somewhat wrong too. The biggest rock won't even stay stuck to the magnet. I've always heard that if it doesn't stick it's probably not real. I've heard it's extremely rare to find a meteorite that doesn't stick....

 

[Terry Soloman]

Here is a real meteorite. These are L5 Gold Basin Chondrites:

 

[JohnnyFlake]

sigh....heard back from the makers of the kit. They still claim the rocks are real but I don't think so....

Anyone else care to give me their opinion This is what the maker of the product had to say about it:

Hematite is often mistaken for meteorite. We do source meteorites however and not hematite to put in our excavation kits and would never try to mislead customers by providing false information. Please consider these points:

1. There are a few different types of meteorite. This particular meteorite is not iron meteorite. It is stone meteorite which is a more common type. Iron meteorite will not leave a streak, however the streak test is best used to identify iron meteorite. It is not a guaranteed method in testing other meteorites as oxidation occurs and stones can leave a rust color streak. One would need to create a window section on the stone to perform the test.

2. Concerning the weight, stone meteorite is not as dense as iron meteorite. With smaller pieces of meteorite (like in our excavation kit) it may be more difficult to feel the difference between that and an average earth rock of the same size. Especially since some pieces may not contain as much iron (which makes it heavier) as other pieces.

3. The magnetic attraction goes back to the iron present in pieces also. The more iron present the stronger the attraction will be. Again the meteorite we have does have magnetic attraction.

Based on what I've read about meteorites, point number 2 is false. It should be heavier than an earth rock. And point number 3: is somewhat wrong too. The biggest rock won't even stay stuck to the magnet. I've always heard that if it doesn't stick it's probably not real. I've heard it's extremely rare to find a meteorite that doesn't stick....

As them for the registered ID Number and Classification of the Meteorite it came from!

 

[Charl]

First, just a correction. Meteorites are not radioactive.

Second, they resemble chondrite meteorites; they could just be common unclassified stone meteorites from Northwest Africa, a common NWA unclassified stone meteorite. I would not assume these people are messing with you necessarily. Unclassified NWA meteorites are very common, and cheap enough bought wholesale and marketed like that. Not necessarily a scam or a mistake. What they told you in reply was accurate as well. I think they are likely NWA meteorites. JMO really, but I have collected meteorites for over 30 years, so I've been around.....

Ask them where the meteorites are from. If stone, it has to be what collectors know as Northwest Africa because it would be the only cheap and abundant source of stone meteorites for such a kit. They may not know themselves if they just bought them wholesale at the Tucson show, for instance, and created the kits. In other words, they may not know too much about meteorites themselves, although it sounds like they have more then casual knowledge. So I would ask them if they know where the meteorites were found. If they tell you NWA or Morocco, you can probably relax. Cannot rule it out based on your photo, those could easily be tiny NWA meteorites, although the photo is poor quality for anyone to truly judge.

 

[NovaNapoleon]

Thanks for the reply and information charl!

I hope you're right! Sorry the photo isn't better quality. My good camera is broke right now.

 

[supertraq]

Everything they said is correct..only iron meteorities when clean want streak and they are the only one's that really stand out weight wise..And stone meteorites can attract a magnet strongly to almost imperceptable,sometimes a strong magnet will only make a slight movement..And ancohondrites have no iron,waynebo

 

[Charl]

I just came back to this old thread after noticing these kits are quite common, and from more then one vendor. I suspect you're safe here, and hope you see this, if you still have the kit. They're all just pieces of common meteorites and the makers of the kits can make a buck. They are not rare, the makers of these kits do not have to scam, the meteorite samples are extremely common.

https://www.google.com/search?q=meteorite+excavation+kit&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

Example. Edmund Scientifics is a highly trusted name in science products. If they have confidence, you can have confidence:

http://www.scientificsonline.com/meteorite-excavation-kit.html