SA’s first meteorite auction will offer enthusiasts an opportunity to expand their collection of "treasures from space". Prior to the 1960s, private ownership of meteorites was rare, with most specimens kept in museums and at universities. But that is no longer the case. Nowadays surplus meteorites are made available to the public — their value determined by rarity‚ origin‚ preservation‚ whether their arrival on earth was well-documented‚ and their beauty. Some specimens sell for $2/g (about R25) to as much as $1,000/g (R12,500). "As the auction market evolves we need to move with it. This auction‚ of some items older than the earth itself‚ is a step in a new direction‚" said Anton Welz‚ divisional head of Stephan Welz & Co fine art and design auctioneers. Some of the meteorite specimens that will be auctioned by the company at Johannesburg’s Killarney Country Club on May 29 originated on the moon or Mars. Their journey to earth could have lasted mere days or millions of years‚ depe...
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