I9I3.] EXCHANGE VALUE OF METEORITES. 523 



tinguished by an abundance of small complete individuals, their gram 

 price is somewhat lower than that for slices, because of the sawing 

 cost. Examples are Canyon Diablo, Toluca, Estherville, Mocs, 

 Pultusk, Holbrook, etc. 



3. Number of Ozvners. — As pointed out by Cohen, this, to a 

 buyer, is secondary to the number of those who might part with 

 some of their holdings. Omitting irons seen to fall and localities of 

 which the original weight was much greater than the present re- 

 corded weight, the market values of the following are more than 

 three times those of Wiilfing: Barea, Bendego, Daniel's Kuil, Djati 

 Pengilon, Elbogen, Emmitsburg, Epinal, Juncal, Krahenberg, La 

 Caille, Molina, Nulles, Petropavlovsk, Red River, Tieschitz and 

 Wold Cottage. For the preceding list, the average number of re- 

 corded owners is 21, but only one or rarely two owners of each fall 

 have an excess over their own requirements. Wiilfing's low price, 

 based partly on the numter of owners, is here in great measure 

 explained. Nevertheless the disposer of a meteorite, in evaluating 

 it, will consider the likely exchangers, lowering his price according 

 to the number of those who already possess nearly as much as their 

 probable requirement. 



On the other hand some of the cheapest meteorites in the market 

 are held at first by some one dealer whose policy is to sell at a 

 figure which will dispose of his stock within a few years. In nearly 

 all cases where a locality is so controlled, the price is lower than the 

 Wiilfing value, and far lower than if held by a large institution 

 which has parted with little or none. The high exchange offers 

 which the institution receives, even though uninvited, tend to elevate 

 the trade price until their exchange policy loosens. Many of the 

 highest ruling prices are largely due to such influences. Further on 

 this is clearly shown in a comparative analysis of the Wiilfing values 

 and the trade prices collated by Cohen. 



This factor of available weight, so dependent on personal in- 

 clination, is the most uncertain of the essential elements, the fall 

 being almost unobtainable where it is preserved entire as municipal 

 or church property. Between the extremes cited lie those meteor- 

 ites held in public meteorite collections, where the policy is nearlv 



