On Friday, October 19th, in a widely publicized sale, a buyer spent $612,500 on a meteorite described by the internet auctioneer RR Auction as "The Largest Known Complete Lunar Puzzle." It was neither the largest nor was it complete. Other attributes were also falsified.
A group of scientists and meteorite experts called the false claims that RR Auction's "Moon Puzzle" was "One of the most important meteorites available for acquisition anywhere in the world today and, perhaps, the most significant example of the Moon ever offered for sale in the history meteorite science," utter lunar-cy.
Cosmochemist Dr. Alan Rubin at the University of California, Los Angeles said, "As lunar specimens go, NWA 11789 [its real name] is not among the most scientifically significant examples of the Moon. It is a common feldspathic breccia-the most common type of lunar meteorite. More than 60% of lunar meteorites are classified as the same type of rock as NWA 11789."
RR Auction's offering, which is clearly not complete, is also not close to being among the larger assemblages of broken lunar fragments. There are others that are larger, and the distinction of the largest goes to 21 interlocking lunar fragments weighing a total of 26.06 kg – more than 5x the mass of RR Auction's "Moon Puzzle."
Its owner, Dr. Lawrence Stifler, the world's foremost collector of lunar meteorites, was perturbed by the false statements made by the auction house. "I respect clever marketing-but these are egregious misrepresentations," said Dr. Stiller. "Truth is all-important-and especially in matters of science."
In the realm of science, the world's foremost classifier of lunar meteorites, Dr. Anthony Irving at the University of Washington, agreed with Dr. Rubin's assessment of this meteorite's relative lack of significance. He added, "Had anyone tried to reach me, I could have quickly disabused them of this being the largest lunar puzzle and this ludicrous situation could have been avoided."
It would have taken even less time to learn this offering was not one of only two lunar meteorites with fusion crust-yet another false selling point touted by RR Auction. A quick visit to The Meteoritical Bulletin-a free online database and primary source for such information-reveals there are more than 50 such examples. The Bulletin also informs there are nine fragments of NWA 11789, but only six were brought to market.
Dr. Carl Agee, the Director of the Institute of Meteoritics, performed the original classification and analysis of NWA 11789. Unbeknownst to Dr. Agee, RR Auction cited him as a media reference in what was apparently an effort to add ballast to their offering. Dr. Agee agrees what Drs. Rubin and Irving stated about reckless marketing. When asked if RR Auction reached out to him to confirm that its offering was "One of the most important meteorites available for acquisition anywhere in the world today", he inquired with incredulity "They actually said that?!"
Based in New York City is the consultant to Dr. Stifler and the preeminent dealer of lunar meteorites, Darryl Pitt. Pitt's insight resulted in what is in fact at 26 kg. (57 lbs.) the world's largest reassembly of lunar fragments. While he is deeply unsettled by the array of misrepresentations, upon reflection he said, "The buyer [identified as Vietnam's Tam Chuc Pagoda Complex] is not receiving what was advertised…but at least it's the Moon."
On December 15, 2018, Heritage Auctions in Dallas is offering a large, fresh, single piece of the Moon that weighs 2.93 kg (6.4 pounds) with Stifler Collection provenance.
