The British and Irish Meteorite Society

Hi, Any tips and advice on keeping adequate records and catalogues for my meteorite collection? Are there any good examples on the net I could follow? I notice some meteorites have catalogue numbers on them already from the first owner/finder. Is this a permanent number for that particular sample which is catalogued on a database somewhere or is it the owners personal number for his own records?

The official catalogues are combined into the Meteoritical Bulletin Database

All other labels are just personal identifiers from the collector or institute.

Hi Bryan,

This is how I catalogue my collection. A simple Word document, one specimen per page with an index at the front of the document.

Regards, Kieron

Thanks for the feedback as I wasn't sure if the individual numbers sometimes seen on samples meant that that was a number allocated to the amount of samples found of an individual meteorite or if it was purely the collectors number as brasky12 pointed out.
So, by Kieron's example, his sample of Appley Bridge is the 29th piece in his personal collection and NOT the 29th piece of Appley Bridge ever found?
If so, how do we officially know how much of any particular meteorite has thus far been found?
For example: A fireball is witnessed and a rough strewn field is calculated. Various collectors head to the area and begin searching for samples of which many are found. I assume that these samples should be recorded officially and each will be allocated a sequential number as such, whether they be in private or scientific collections?
If so, does this mean Kieron's sample have an official number as well as his own catalogue number of 29?

I see what you are getting at, but it would be impossible to number every fragment from a fall, unless it was collected and catalogued under the strictest conditions. I think there have been attempts in recent years to catalogue US falls in that way, but you can guarantee that most people wouldn't be interested in declaring their finds.

Also, once in the hands of a dealer there is no way of knowing how many times a specimen would be 'sliced and diced' (or smashed with a hammer). Even museums have been prepared to let go specimens (or parts thereof), usually in trade for new specimens.

I think if you see a meteorite with a number on it, that will be an individual collector's acquisition number.


Regards, Kieron

Ok got it, thanks for the answers, they're very much appreciated.

Lots of different ways that meteorites have been cataloged over the years...but numbers on them will be personal to the collector...and sometimes historically they can be significant and make them more valuable...eg Nininger or Huss numbers which have a characteristic format and sometimes do record the number of that particular fall or find that the person has in their collection....

Total known weights are usually noted in the Met Bulletin record of meteorites...but they can often be way out as they do not get updated often and so a strewn field TKW is recorded early on and then many more pieces are found or declared over the years making the weight far lower than it should be.

Graham

Hi Bryan,

This is one of the US meteorites I was thinking of, where they tried to number the fragments as they were found.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter's_Mill_meteorite

Battle Mountain was another.


Regards, Kieron

Thanks for the Sutter's Mill Meteorite link Kieron. Sounds like an amazing fall with particular scientific interest. Quite a coincidence that it fell during a meteorite shower but was in no way connected!
I really enjoy the more modern falls as it reminds me that another one could fall at any time!