Fake Pallasites

These examples go beyond your standard meteorwrongs because they were created for fraudulent reasons. In fact some of these fakes, like Shirokovsky, can even sell as known fakes for more than some real pallasites!

Here is one of the most recent fakes that was submitted to Dr. Carl Agee for classification in summer of 2020.

Shirokovsky is categorized in the MetBull as a “pseudometeorite“. The write-up is somewhat ambiguous, and should not be. This meteorwrong was man-made with the intent to defraud collectors and institutions. It was sold originally as a fallMeteorite seen to fall. Such meteorites are usually collected soon after falling and are not affected by terrestrial weathering (Weathering = 0). Beginning in 2014 (date needs confirmation), the NomComm adopted the use of the terms "probable fall" and "confirmed fall" to provide better insight into the meteorite's history. If Click on Term to Read More from Feb. 1, 1956 and many well respected dealers were taken in. What is impressive is that the fraud persisted for a long time before it was properly identified. Now, these are collected as one of the best examples of a fake meteoriteWork in progress. A solid natural object reaching a planet’s surface from interplanetary space. Solid portion of a meteoroid that survives its fall to Earth, or some other body. Meteorites are classified as stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron meteorites. These groups are further divided according to their mineralogy and Click on Term to Read More.