Folks, I want to briefly mention the importance of immediately
reaching out to the media when they get the story wrong.
When I saw the following piece (which Darren also provided below), I
contacted AP and explained their story was inaccurate: I informed AP
the Willamette meteorite did not fall billions---or even millions---
of years ago and the auction, with 92% sell-through and more than 50%
of the objects selling for more than the HIGH estimate was factually
misrepresented by the headline "Meteorites Get Little Action at
Auction."
And after being able to prove the inaccuracies, they changed both
points on deadline. If you click on Darren's link below you'll
notice the edits which were made to the text which he embedded in the
email.
More than two hundred news stories distributed throughout the world
were about to mischaracterize the vibrancy in the state of meteorite
collecting---and AP sent out a correction to all subscribers.
Gratefully the headline was modified in most cases to read "2
Meteorites Get Little Auction at Auction." instead of the headline
below "Meteorites Get Little Action at Auction,"---an extremely
different message as it regards the outcome of yesterday's auction.
When the media gets facts of our beloved interest wrong---quickly
help them get it right.
All best,
Darryl
Begin forwarded message:
From: Darren Garrison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: October 28, 2007 9:50:00 PM EST
To: Meteorite Mailing List <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: [meteorite-list] More on the auction
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/
AR2007102801211.html
Meteorites Get Little Action at Auction
By RICHARD PYLE
The Associated Press
Sunday, October 28, 2007; 7:47 PM
NEW YORK -- Two of the world's most famous meteorites failed to
attract buyers
at an auction Sunday, while an ordinary metal mailbox zapped by a
falling space
rock in 1984 was sold for the unearthly price of nearly $83,000.
A 30-pound chunk of the Willamette Meteorite, which was found in
Oregon in 1902
and has been steeped in ownership controversies for more than a
century, was
offered by Bonhams auction house at an estimated value of $1.3
million but was
withdrawn from sale after bidding ended at $300,000.
Similarly, the 1,410-pound Brenham Main Mass, dug out of a Kansas
farm field in
2005, was withdrawn by Bonhams CEO and auctioneer Malcolm Barber
after it drew a
top bid of only $200,000 _ well short of the pre-sale estimate of
$630,000 to
$700,000.
In both cases the sellers, who were present, said they weren't
worried because
potential purchasers were known to be interested in the
extraterrestrial rocks
even though they may not have joined the bidding.
"I'm disappointed, but it was not through any lack of effort," said
Philip Mani,
a San Antonio lawyer and geologist who is one of three owners of
the Brenham
meteorite, along with Steve Arnold, who found it, and Allen
Binford, who owns
the wheat field near Greensburg, Kan., where it was discovered.
"We are in the process of putting together a plan, and we have a
number of
inquiries from people expressing interest."
The entire 15.5-ton Willamette Meteorite has been owned by the
American Museum
of Natural History since 1908, with pieces loaned or given to other
collectors
from time to time.
The small piece was offered at auction by Darryl Pitt, curator of
the Macovich
Collection, the world's largest collection of space rocks, who
traded the museum
a Martian rock for the Willamette chip in 1998.
The fact that it went unsold was "not really a surprise," Pitt
said, adding that
he also expected a lot of interest from prospective buyers.
Having sold several other rocks, including a Siberian meteorite _ a
product of
history's largest known meteor shower _ for the day's top price of
$122,750, he
called the auction "not a bad day. It shows there is a lot of
interest in
meteorites."
The couple who bought the Siberian rock declined to identify
themselves.
Scientists believe the huge Willamette meteorite, the largest ever
found in
North America, crashed billions of years ago in what is now Canada
and was
pushed southward by glaciers before it was discovered in an area
occupied by
Oregon's Clackamas Indians.
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, which includes the
Clackamas, has
objected to the auction of the 30-pound fragment. The tribe
believes the
meteorite is a sacred object that was sent to Earth by the Sky
People; demands
for its return to the group have been refused.
"I don't know what to say about their claim," Pitt said after the
auction.
Among the more than 50 meteorites, moon rocks and other items that
Bonhams
auctioned off for a total of $750,000, a surprise star was a
mailbox that had
sat outside the home of Carutha Barnard in Claxton, Ga., until it
was blasted
one night in 1984 by a three-pound rock from outer space.
In spirited bidding, the mailbox _ somewhat the worse for the
experience but
with its red metal flag still bravely in the "up" position _ went
to an
unidentified bidder for $82,750 including the buyer's premium of 20
percent. A
tiny piece of the rock itself, less than an ounce, went for $7,700.
The Valera Meteorite, noteworthy as the only space rock documented
to have
caused a fatality on Earth, was sold for $1,554. Its victim in 1972
was a cow in
Venezuela.
© 2007 The Associated Press
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