Hello,
It should be of great concern. Every news article, every TV show,
every special that features meteorites as "treasure" first, and
science second, will most likely result in a distorted view of what
meteorites are worth.
In my recent interview with the Washington Post writer, we spent
nearly 20-30 minutes talking about the pricing of meteorites. I
expressed to him that it was extremely important to report the pricing
accurately. I told him almost every time a story is done on meteorites
and prices are mentioned, well the reporter seems to forget the
pennies per gram and goes with the ten's of thousands that a meteorite
could be worth.
I told him when you state the high end only, you get a distorted view
of pricing, and the results can be extremely negative. I believe you
have more fraud on ebay, because people think they can get $10,000 for
the meteorwrong, not $10.00. This is most likely a direct result of
distorted news reporting and TV shows.
I know many of you dearly love the Meteorite TV shows of late, and
think they are nothing but great for the field of meteorites. Well, I
know of 4 meteorites in the field, who's owners/finders want tens of
thousands of dollars, more than these little chondrites are worth-
simply because of the Cash and Treasure Show and the first Meteorite
Men episode.
So, because I will not pay, $45,000 for a 1 kilo chondrite from North
Texas, it will sit, like many others meteorites with the owners- who
believe, because of TV shows that were done poorly, that they are
worth $50,000 or more. Science will loose out if reporting is not
done accurately.
Best Wishes
Michael Cottingham
On Feb 3, 2010, at 9:34 AM, Michael Groetz wrote:
List-
Maybe many of the rest of you don't feel this way- but to me it
generally seems the news media and television shows are more concerned
about a quick buck rather than the science and appreciation for
meteorites for what they are- treasures from space that you can hold
in your hand.
It seems like initially meteorites are viewed as something special
and usually wind up "How much is it worth?" after buyers roll in.
The doctor in this case tried to maintain the scientific value for
all to appreciate while helping the people of Haiti. Then the $$$ was
thrown at them and greed seems to be winning out.
Sorry for the frustration.
Mike
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/03/meteorite-worth-thousands-stirs-ownership-debate/
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