Hi Geoff, Thanks for the warning.
You know, with all the campos and beer flying around Tucson during Feburary, there is a chance that someone lost a campo off the roof of their car or something like that. Heck, I even accidently bought one the Blood auction, only to sell it minutes later when I realized I likley could not fly home with it. Anyway, I guess now we have to watch out for the Tucson Rong. Cheers, Martin On 6/29/06, Notkin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dear Listees: This is an alert regarding an alleged piece of the Tucson Ring, currently being offered for sale. Some months ago, I was contacted by a lady here in Tucson, who stated that a family member had found an iron meteorite nearby. She emailed me a photo, and there was no doubt that it was the real thing. I went to take a look in person. She claimed the ~3 kg iron had been found "near Ryan Field" but, conveniently, couldn't remember exactly where. Although it was clearly a genuine iron meteorite it was, in my opinion, almost certainly a Campo del Cielo, and not a particularly nice one at that. I remarked that the specimen had obviously been wire brushed, and it was unlikely it had been found in that condition. With my loupe I showed her parts of the original patina that remained in some crevices. She stated that the iron had never been cleaned, and was just as it had been found. I explained that the only way to do a positive ID would be to take her iron to a recognized lab for analysis. The specimen was taken to the meteorite department at the University of Arizona. A number of eminent academics looked at it, and spent a great deal of time photographing it, making a cast, etc., as the owner had given them permission to cut it, once a cast had been made. The owner then changed her mind and said she would not allow it to be cut. Only the "new owner" could have it cut. Yesterday, she wrote to me again, saying "everyone [at U of A] thinks this is a part of the Tucson Ring meteorite." She offered it to me at $5,500. I telephoned U of A today and spoke with a friend who is directly involved with this matter. I was very clearly told that nobody at U of A believes this iron has anything to do with the Tucson Ring. In my opinion, this is misrepresentation at best, and an outright scam at worst. As such I wanted to alert the collecting community in case anyone is offered this specimen. It weighs 3,230 grams, and has a flattish, tapered "scute" shape, typical of many old Campos. It is bright silver (has been heavily wire brushed) and has small pits on the surface, again similar to many "old" Campos. Anyone wishing further details, please feel free to contact me off-list. I have not used any real names as this is a public forum. In this case, buyer beware. Yours sincerely, Geoff www.aerolite.org ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
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