Question?

[old digger]

If you have a certain sample that has been looked at by an authority, and had the sample tested, and is assumed to be meteorite material, where would you be able to sell the item?

 

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[smokeythecat]

If it's small, Ebay. A documented piece from a formerly unknown "find" is more valuable than a piece from a well known area.

 

[old digger]

Thanks Smokey. I'll give a little more information. I purchased this specimen at an estate sale of an archeologist. The family did not have any paperwork on the item, but said that their father did say that is was authentic. The sample weighs a little over three pounds and slightly magnetic. I still plan on getting more information about the piece.

 

[Red-Coat]

Speaking as a collector (and hence a potential buyer) you definitely need to obtain some reputable certification if you want to attract serious collectors and maximise your profit on a sale.

In addition to genuine items sold by people who have respectable credentials, Fleabay is full of items claimed to be meteorites, based on nothing more than a seller with no credentials saying so… and most of those items are not meteorites. They’re typically purchased by gullible people but given a very wide berth by serious collectors.

Something that you call ‘a meteorite’ isn’t really going to attract attention from a serious collector unless it has been attributed to a known fall (for which the typology is already established) or is from an unknown fall (and has been typed). Or, of course, a typed meteorite from a new fall… but in that case a collector is going to want the fall locality, date of find, name of finder etc to be properly documented.

It would be foolish for anyone with a sizeable (and 3 pounds is sizeable) meteorite to not get it typed before trying to sell it. The typology may enable it to be attributed to a known fall (in which case you could then sell it under that name) or not (in which case you could only sell it as a generic example of the type. Many Saharan meteorites are sold in this way as generic ‘North West Africa’ for example, without a precisely known location… only a typology, such as ‘L6 Chondrite’ for example. Those will never realise the same price as meteorites from a named fall.

The point is that the value of a meteorite will vary enormously according to type and whether it can be attributed to a named fall. If you have a 3 pound lunar achondrite (even without a fall history) then that’s going to be hugely more valuable than a 3 pound chondrite (even if it’s from a known fall). There’s then a spectrum between those extremes with the value depending on the classification.

I have occasionally purchased ‘suspected’ meteorites and unclassified meteorites on a speculative basis and then obtained my own authentication/certification but won’t normally do so unless I can examine the specimen personally… and even then I expect the price to reflect the uncertainty and the gamble on my part. A while ago, I purchased a small Saharan stone very cheaply on the basis that it seemed unusually heavy and magnetic. After cutting, it proved to be a Main Group Pallasite, so that was a result. I’m also sitting on a slice of what I purchased as (very obviously) from a genuine meteorite which was awaiting typing, based on my belief it would turn out to be a rare grouping. So far, so good, but the final classification hasn’t yet been published in the MetSoc bulletin.

 

[old digger]

I'll post a couple photo's.








The last photo is where the previous filed/ground down on the specimen.

 

[old digger]

I did find a site back east that will for a small fee test a small sample for verification.

 

[old digger]

I realize that having the verification of the known fall site is very important, and it certainly hurts the chance of value. Is it possible to find out if the specimen can be narrowed down to a possible fall site?

 

[Red-Coat]

Sorry to say this but, if that cut and polished surface is as metallic as it looks in the picture, this is definitely not a meteorite.

Meteorites with high amounts of visible native metal are always strongly magnetic... not 'slightly magnetic' as you describe. There are really no exceptions to this rule.

 

[smokeythecat]

I ought to sell the big Arizona meteorite I got at a show a few years ago. It's sitting in my junk box with the original label.

 

[old digger]

I value your input Red. Can a meteorite have that much concentration of nickle to appear thus?

 

[Red-Coat]

I value your input Red. Can a meteorite have that much concentration of nickle to appear thus?

The native metallic components of meteorites are generally in the region of 6-20% nickel (higher in the metal from stony meteorites), with most of the rest as iron. There may be cobalt in amounts up to about 2%, copper in amounts up to about 0.02%, plus traces of manganese and tin. Anything else will usually be in parts per million, or present as non-native compounds.

There are no known meteorites where the percentage of nickel or other non-ferrous metals results in anything other than strong reaction to a magnet from its iron content. I would just stress that this magnetic reaction refers only to meteorites where there is obvious native metal... not necessarily to meteorites where native metal is not readily visible.

 

[old digger]

Thanks!

 

[Terry Soloman]

That is NOT a meteorite. Sorry.

 

[old digger]

Thanks you all for the input. I will set aside the hope and take it as a good try.