THE GIBEON Terrier is a renowned meteorite that bears a striking semblance to a canine.

Most of the objects in Schwade’s collection could be mistaken for items that turn up when tilling the backyard. But some are worth more than their weight in gold–and their prices can be just as volatile. "The average person looks at them as rocks," says Schwade, who declines to discuss the value of his collection, "and thinks I have rocks in my head to want to have this collection."

In fact, meteorites have become big-ticket items in the past decade. David Herskowitz, who arranges natural history auctions through the Chait Gallery in Beverly Hills, attributes the growing demand to their "cool factor," which is enjoyed by those who like to hold a 4-billion-year-old relic of the universe’s origins in their hands.

Meteorites crashed into the collectibles market a decade ago, in large part because of the efforts of Darryl Pitt. The owner of a New York music management firm, Pitt started the Macovich Collection, a stockpile of iron meteorites, in the 1980s with two business colleagues. Pitt had rued the lack of differentiation in the market, and made it his mission to amass what he calls aesthetic samples–meteorites that have a certain visual appeal, as opposed to those that look like a garden variety rock. Pitt owns thousands of specimens, and while he is unsure of its exact value, it runs well into the millions; he estimates that one 30-pound meteorite is worth $750,000. When a Macovich meteorite won a spot on Arts & Antiques’ 100 Top Treasures of the Year in 1998, the hobby moved into the spotlight.

AN EXTRAORDINARY discovery made in 2003, the Fukang meteorite is arguably the world’s preeminent pallasitic meteorite. It was sold by Bonhams & Butterfields last December for $12,500.

Pitt himself credits Herskowitz’s natural history auctions in the 1990s–promoted through full-page ads in national newspapers–for propelling meteorites out of the narrow orbit of astronomy clubs. The auctions brought thousands for pieces that Pitt purchased from African tribesmen for tens or hundreds of dollars a few years earlier. In 1998, the year two blockbuster films about asteroids hit theaters, a meteorite went for $137,500 at a Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers sale in New York. A few weeks later at Butterfield & Butterfield (now Bonhams & Butterfield), an 18-pound specimen sold for $105,000. In early 2000, one gram of a meteorite from Mars sold for $16,000.

Despite these windfalls, financially motivated investors remain of secondary importance in this market. It is dominated by passionate collectors who are knowledgeable enough to converse with scientists on technical matters and who are willing to jet off to the far corners of the globe to secure a rare piece of a new fall.

SEEING RED Lunar and Martian meteorites may not look special (those believed to be from Mars are not red), but they are valuable because they are relatively unusual. But collectors must be wary of these specimens. While chemical comparisons between samples brought back from Apollo missions can confirm lunar meteorites as genuine, the absence of a certifiable chunk of Mars leaves the paternity of those meteorites purported to be from our neighboring planet in doubt. "It would be wise, if you wanted to get your money out of them, to sell them before they actually bring a piece of Mars back," collector Jim Schwade says. "Because if it turns out they aren’t Martian meteorites, their value will plummet 90 percent." But if meteorites ever establish a link to life beyond Earth, expect prices to skyrocket.

Extraterrestrial Excess
The best places to find meteorites are regions where rogue rocks look out of place. The uniform sandscape of the Sahara and the icy expanse of Antarctica are favorites. Prospectors began combing the Sahara in earnest in 1997. What began as a trickle of meteorites became a deluge as North Africa’s poor nomad communities began to scour the desert looking for specimens to sell to American or European dealers. Experts relate anecdotes about being offered oil barrels full of meteorites by ambitious locals, particularly in Morocco. The ensuing meteorite glut drove down prices, even for rare Martian and lunar pieces. Prices for these objects, $10,000 or more per gram a few years ago, have fallen to $1,000 to $2,000 per gram.

Despite the current surplus, meteorite collecting now seems on firm ground. Pitt says that many of his pieces auctioned off less than 10 years ago would fetch about twice their price today; a 48-pound sample that sold for about $4,000 in 1995 would now net about $7,000, he estimates. And the pipeline from Africa may be drying up. Michael Farmer, a dealer who sources meteorites from around the world, says that the haul in 2005 was only 10 percent of the size of the 2004 harvest. If so, this may eventually stabilize prices. Enthusiasts remain concerned, however, that this market is so small (there are only about 10,000 collectors worldwide, while serious devotees may number as few as 2,000) that a large find or the sale of a private collection could deflate values. Some important collectors are disheartened by the recent emergence of online meteorite auctions, says Kevin Kichinka, author of The Art of Collecting Meteorites, and the ensuing disintegration of camaraderie in this tiny fraternity.

The safest investments are founded on a feature that may seem counterintuitive when applied to something that fell out of the sky: provenance. Collectors strive to attain so-called named meteorites; some hope to amass at least one piece from each named meteorite. Names are given based on where a meteorite fell or was found. In 1492, the residents of Ensisheim, France, shaken by a loud explosion, discovered a 280-pound meteorite and began cutting it into pieces. Many of these shards have found their way into museums and private collections; a 120-pound section remains in Ensisheim. Other famous meteorite families include Sikhote-Alin from a 1947 Russian impact and prehistoric Gibeon specimens from Namibia. For collectors, a piece of Ensisheim–which might come up in auction once a year–or another well-known meteorite has the best chance of appreciating because they are well-documented.

BECAUSE OF its singular, uncharacteristic shape, this natural sculpture from outer space, recovered in Namibia, is valued at $30,000.

Alternately, meteorites from the Sahara that are collected with little or no regard for documentation are referred to as NWAs, as in Northwest Africa, or more derisively, Not Worth Anything. They lack a sense of place, as well as the intriguing histories that often surround a named meteorite, and consequently rarely figure into valuable collections.

Beyond their earthly landings, specimens are also divided by their composition. There are three broad categories of meteorites: stony, iron and stony-iron. Most meteorites proffered for sale are stony specimens called chondrites that are simply bits of asteroids from the belt between Mars and Jupiter. They cost a few cents or few dollars per gram. Rare specimens that are either remarkable in their appearance or in their origin sell from $10 to $20 per gram up to hundreds or thousands of dollars per gram. Pallasites, a type of stony-iron meteorite popular with collectors, look like jeweled stained-glass panels when sliced. Because meteorites often seem unexceptional, collectors must be sure that what they purchase is genuine. Market insiders, however, claim that outright fraud is rare. "I find it interesting that almost everywhere in natural history there are fakes . . . [but] I haven’t really heard of a problem with someone selling a stone and saying it’s a meteorite," says Herskowitz, who also handles fossils and gems. Dealers insist that meteorites are so freely accessible and the community so small that illicit trade is simply not worth the risk.

VALUE JUDGMENT: Meteorite collecting has moved from the quirky surroundings of astronomy clubs and mineral shows to the high end of the collectibles market. The most passionate collectors literally chase meteorites to the ends of the earth. While values have stagnated in recent years because of a deluge of specimens from North Africa, the problem finally seems to be subsiding. The finest examples are still worth far more than their weight in gold.

Divide and Conquer
Even so, collectors are advised to keep to a reputable chain of ownership because meteorite shards spread faster than juicy gossip. Scientists who analyze a new meteorite to establish its chemical content require the finder to sacrifice a portion of the mass. After the Meteoritic Society, the world standards body, approves the find, the specimen may be cut into many smaller pieces, whose new owners may further divide them. Chipping a small piece off a large block for chemical analysis may be palatable when a rock is found, but the expense and loss of valuable material becomes increasingly unfeasible as specimens become smaller.

To find reputable sources and gain access to the best meteorites on the market, Schwade recommends building a collection with the assistance of a good dealer. Buying from a dealer tends to be more affordable than buying a piece at auction. Many collectors augment their assortment by bartering. While one would never dream of cutting up a Picasso or a Duesenberg, it is standard practice with meteorites. "Finding a totally new meteorite, slicing it up and exchanging with museums is an excellent way to grow a collection," says Schwade, who has traded with the British Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian.

Scientific institutions win much of the spoils of official meteorite expeditions, notably to Antarctica, so they often have a wealth of samples. Collectors sometimes trade one of their specimens to a museum in exchange for one of its pieces. Institutions are not as generous as they were a few years ago, however, when many gave away very valuable specimens as trades for pieces of the first Martian and lunar samples to come out of the Sahara, only to have the value of the new specimens drop precipitously.

Unfortunately, even though collectors may own treasured pieces that are worthy of the world’s best museums, securing them also requires museumlike considerations. Climactic concerns must be addressed: Meteorites will rust in humid climates and require special containers. Collectors must also be wary of thieves. These highly portable rocks are prohibitive to insure because underwriting companies are unfamiliar with them, and meteorites acquired in trades are difficult to value. Thus, collectors rely on physical security measures; they have good home security systems and keep their highly prized specimens in vaults or safety deposit boxes. "Insurance companies do not understand the value of meteorites," Schwade points out, "and they seem to charge higher rates than they would for things they understand, like jewelry and art."

Lee Gimpel is a business and technology writer based in Richmond, Va.

Photography courtesy Macovich Collection.

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