METEORITE MARKET TRENDS
August, 2010
by Michael Blood

The most interesting thing going on in the market today is Meteorite thin sections.

Many years ago, right after David New retired, I decided I Wanted to produce a line of thin sections. However, it took
me years to find David New’s thin section maker. Said TS Maker is the best there is. He is the one NASA used to
make TSs our of the rocks they brought back from the moon. Thin sections are not easily made – not at all.
In fact, they Have a VERY narrow tolerance for variation in thickness of Only about 2%. Since 1 micron = 0.001mm,
and 15microns Of thickness is the standard, there can be very little difference In thickness, indeed.

I was eventually able to find the above mentioned Thin Section Maker and discovered he was the most expensive –
as well as By far the best. I proceded to build up quite the supply of Thin Sections and offer them at a reasonable rate –
quite similar to David New’s pricing. However, only a few years into this and Dave Dean Started having a shlock shop
in Canada turn out his material from NWA Which he was getting for about 5c/g, regardless of type, and he flooded
the market with TSs that cost far less than my cost just for the material, Much less the additional cost of having them
made – which, itself was several times the cost Dave was charging for “finished” TSs. It amazed Me, but people
gobbled up these TSs which were just about worthless, Scientifically.

The original purpose of a thin section is that, when viewed in a microscope Through cross polarized light, the
resulting colors will “tell you” what the Components (make up) of the material is. However, if it is not within about
2% of 15 microns, the colors shift. So, since most meteorite collectors bought thin sections to be wowed by the
chondrule structure and fabulous colors, the considered it irrelevant if the TSs were “off” scientifically – or
even if they were wedged. So, my TS business fell off a cliff and since then I have had made only lunar and
Martian specimens made into thin sections.

Now, years have gone by and Dave Dean is long out of the Thin Section business And Anne Black discovered
the same Thin Section maker used by David New and myself and she now has BY FAR the best selection of meteorite
thin sections in The world – especially since she has recently taken ET’s personal collection Of OVER 1000 thin
sections on consignment. Her prices are the same as were Mine and David New’s, adjusted for inflation (IE $60- for
what used to be $45- Many years ears ago). Increased prices to allow for inflation are truly minimal, If at all
when it comes to the planetary material she offers. In addition, many of Anne’s thin sections can be seen in
excellent photography by clicking on the listed specimen (those which have a photo available are Listed in red).

Check out her excellent selection at:

http://www.impactika.com/TSlist.htm

I particularly like...

Ibitira: