An Article In Meteorite-Times Magazine
by Michael Blood

The meteorite market continues to progress rather consistently toward slow "recovery." Elements influencing this trend of the last several months are difficult to determine, while the elements of indication are far more clear. There is a clear resurgence of purchases of "historic" falls, both great and small, as well a number of newly available material of previous great scarcity. Lodran has just recently become available, while appreciable sized fragments of Chassigny have been available far longer, but for the first time in many years.

Such breakthroughs began over a year ago when small, but still significant specimens of Bencubin were offered, and that was preceded by a year with Lafayette. However, Lafayette seemed to show up about the time prices had "bottomed out" overall and was available at still remarkably low prices (in the $10K per gram range). Chassigny, while still well under the pre-crash $100/g prices, has brought more respectable sums since its release.

Combined with the newly available ultra rare material at low, but still more traditional prices is a marked upsurge in purchases of witnessed falls, again at more traditional prices. On top of that, we have an increase in prices of SOME of the nicer NWA material, such as the $8 to $15 per gram fetched by the nicely breciated LL6,Bensour. Note that this case also brings us a witnessed fall, as opposed to the finds which constitute almost all of the NWA materials.

This by no means indicates the "buyer’s market" is concluding, especially as it applies to NWA. As we "go to press," several rare types are about to be released at ridiculously low prices, such as $10 to $15 per gram fresh Euctritic material and, possibly, a $20 per gram Brachinite! This follows a Tucson Show with a fabulous $15 to $30 per gram CR2! Additionally, while the beautiful NWA 482 has held its $5K/g price, most of the other NWA lunars have continued to drop in price, as has most of the NWA martian material. No, there need be no fear that we are still enjoying a deliciously deflated market.

In fact, I know of one big time/old time dealer who claims he has quit dealing, built a new business and is in the process of putting together a first rate collection, saying, "I’ve spent my whole life selling meteorites - now, with the market being what it is, I can afford to build the collection I always wanted. I could never afford to before, because everything I got was so valuable, I had to sell it. Now it’s so cheap, I won’t have that pressure. I can finally afford to keep it for myself."

So, here we are folks - still time to buy "for pennies on the dollar" so many of the goodies we had to go without before - and so many new NWA goodies, too! Ain’t it grand?