I was about to post a rant just to help things along, when the web page closed by itself. Man proposes, God derails.
I'll try again.
Many years ago, I saw Namibia's collection of eight large, pristine, Gibeon iron-nickel meteorites in the courtyard of Windhoek's Alte Feste, the old fort. Since then, two were stolen from the fort. The remaining six were put on display on Kaiserstrasse, with places for the missing two in case they were recovered. Instead, two more disappeared.
Gibeon meteorites are prized as "space jewellery" because when slices are "etched" (treated with an acid that dissolves nickel on the surface), particularly exquisite patterns appear). The process was originally used to prove the presence of nickel and add to the evidence that a meteorite had been found.
Some websites say that Namibia recently introduced a ban on the export of meteorites. That is not true. The ban has been in force since 1950. Yet large slices of Gibeon meteorite have appeared for sale online at high prices. I cannot prove which, if any, such slices, segments or whole meteorites were acquired before 1950. I think that any such slices offered for sale should be investigated by law enforcement agencies, though.
I can tolerate meteorite hunters who pick up and smuggle small meteorites even in violation of local laws. Such people are by nature swashbucklers (adventurers, freebooters, freelancers, soldiers of fortune, buccaneers, privateers, ronin - so many words with similar meaning) and the world and certainly the movies, would be boring without them. I don't like sneak thieves who steal and vandalise national, arguably international, treasures.
