The British and Irish Meteorite Society (BIMS) |
Please click on the section headings below to chose the section you wish to read.
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About Meteorites - Introduction |
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About Meteorites - Identification |
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About Meteorites - Classification |
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About Meteorites - Stones: Chondrites |
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About Meteorites - Stones: Achondrites |
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About Meteorites - Stony-Irons |
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About Meteorites - Irons |
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About Meteorites - Classification Continued |
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About Meteorites - Further Reading |
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Buying Meteorites |
It comes as a surprise to many people that meteorites can be bought, sold and collected outside of museums and laboratories. The internet has seen a boom in the number of meteorite collectors and dealers. Some meteorites are very valuable, as such there are a few unscrupulous sales people around who may be selling terrestrial rocks as meteorites. To avoid being disappointed, consider the following recomendations:
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- Get to know the subject, read about meteorites and become familiar with the most common/popular types and how they look. You will be able to tell some rocks are not meteorites even from a small photograph.
- Consider who you are purchasing from. Many meteorite dealers are members of the International Meteorite Collectors Association (IMCA). IMCA members monitor each others business activites to ensure authenticity. However, there are a number of large and reputable dealers who are not IMCA members. Numerous dealers post advertisements to the Meteorite mailing List ("metlist") at Meteorite Central. You can also find dealers via The Meteorite Exchange.
A great deal of meteorite sales happen via Ebay, you can view potential sales of British and Irish meteorites directly from the BIMS website here. You are highly advised to take the above precautions when buying on Ebay, do your homework and buy from reputable dealers. Meteorite-Identification.com is a good source of information on suspect Ebay auctions. Meteorite Exchange has a page here which summarises ebay listings from known meteorite dealers.As a BIMS member please feel free to post on our mailing list if you are at all concerned about a (potential) purchase and we will do our best to help you. Remember that it is ultimately your own responsibility to check the provenance and authenticity of any items you buy. Reputable dealers will always be happy to answer questions on these matters. For a genuine meteorite dealer, reputation is everything. Misrepresenting just one specimen would ruin their entire business as collectors would lose confidence in them. Therefore the vast majority are highly professional and reliable.
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Found a Meteorite? |
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