[meteorite-list] Speck Issues - Reply to this subject

[Lasse Lindh]

Hi Don and all

I am a collector with a tight budget, but I would still not buy a speck 
that only is identifyable buy the card that follows it. I would rather 
save money and buy a small piece or an individual.  I agree that as long 
as the tiny speck is waste from cutting it's OK, but how do we know that 
it is? The price per gram for a tiny speck is often a lot higher than a 
bigger piece. It might not be for all, but I've seen this quite often.

Regards

Lasse


Don Merchant wrote:

> Hi List. My thoughts on specks with a little funny story about them. I 

> realize not every collector out that has unlimited funds and so many 

> collectors with budgets and families alike have just so much to spend 

> on their treasured specimens. Lets face it meteorite collecting can be 

> very addicting and can get many collectors in a financial bind if not 

> careful, much like the out of control compulsive gambler so to speak. 

> With so many available meteorites to choose from and in many different 

> sizes and weights as well as new finds every year, this can make any 

> collector especially the novice, feel like a kid walking into a candy 

> store for the first time! I think it is fantastic that dealers like 

> Mike Farmer, Greg Hupe, Mike Cottingham, Dean Bessy and others can 

> offer small milligram size meteorites for what I feel is the majority 

> of collectors with budgets out there. I take my hat off to these men 

> as they have open up a new world to meteorites and collecting that 10 

> years or so ago was unheard of. Specks......I agree with others that 

> to own a piece of a super rare hard to acquire meteorite especially 

> under a budget that sometimes that speck in one's collection can look 

> like a boulder! Is that Speck really the type of meteorite that was 

> said it is? I always felt that buying from top name dealers was the 

> safest way to go because as Mike Farmer said money is not the issue. 

> When your at that level of the game as a dealer, selling false type 

> specks is not even in ones vocabulary. There will always be cutting 

> losses when cutting meteorites Period. So why not sell those cutting 

> losses to collectors who can't afford say the 1/4-3/4 gram of ultra 

> rare sub type of whatever meteorite. Not everyone can own a 1943 

> copper penny but give me a steel 1943 penny to put in my collection 

> and I'm happy. I have made a habit over the years of only buying from 

> a certain group of dealers and if I run into something that catches my 

> eye from a non-regular dealer I will do my homework before I buy. Most 

> specks will never get that huge price tag. It is true in meteorites 

> that bigger is better or simply put you get what you pay for. I prefer 

> to say I buy what I can reasonably afford. Forgive me List but I 

> always look at a piece of meteorite I buy as what I would be able to 

> get back on it for resale. I say this because of my last statement 

> "bigger is better" and maybe I cannot afford that 1/2 gram of rare 

> meteorite today but I will buy a 1/4 gram of it and then later catch a 

> deal on that 1/2 gram and sell my 1/4 gram to "step up" so to speak. 

> Ok I'm rambling on. My speck story.....I remember years ago when I 

> started out collecting meteorites and of course with family and all, I 

> was under a microscope watched eye budget by my wife! I really wanted 

> a Martian meteorite so I could brag to myself and friends that I had 

> an actual piece of stone from the Planet Mars. I'll never forget when 

> my speck came in the mail, of course bought from a famous well known 

> dealer (I did my homework) and I could hardly contain my self as I 

> opened up the package! I don't know about many of you List members out 

> there but I have this habit of removing the specimen from the gem case 

> into my own brand new gem case, gem jar whatever you want to call it 

> and then into my collection cabinet. Well, I am in my office and all 

> ready to make this delicate surgeon type transfer. I have gone to 

> great lengths to make sure all goes smoothly. No FANS are on, door in 

> office is closed, 1,000,000 candle light of light power is on! My 

> first though looking into the gem jar was, DAMN that sure is a speck!! 

> I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed BUT, I had a piece of MARS 

> right in front of me and so I'm easily pleased! I continue on to 

> making the transfer by ever so gently opening up the gem jar cap. 

> BOING!!!!!!!!!!!! That #%$!&%#$#%!#^!%$# speck sprung out of that DAMN 

> gem jar like a Martian on a Mission back to MARS! The fibers on the 

> felt pad actually acted as a spring board when I relieved the pressure 

> of the gem case cap! The speck fell on the thick carpet below (I 

> think) which was my next problem and mistake. I searched for that DAMN 

> speck for over an hour! It NEVER made it to my collection! I couldn't 

> believe that I could be more disappointed then when I first saw the 

> speck in the gem jar as I was on my hands and knees searching for it 

> on/in the carpet, but I was! That's when I knew I loved meteorite 

> collecting and never looked back or for that matter never looked for 

> that speck again. Since then I have my own scale of size minimum for 

> meteorite purchases. I remember using a pencil to part the carpet 

> fibers looking for this speck. I was using the eraser end. The eraser 

> fell out of the pencil and I had no problem finding the eraser. So I 

> never buy anything smaller then an eraser size meteorite specimen, no 

> matter how rare. I will save up till I can. I have never forgotten the 

> feeling of loss that day, even for a speck. That speck taught me 

> something that day! It taught me to get rid of my wife because I could 

> of avoided that DAMN disappointing day if I had spent more on a bigger 

> piece!!

> Sincerely

> Don Merchant

> IMCA #0960

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