Why do collectors prize witnessed falls?
Witnessed falls are prized because they are fresh and unweathered, their date and place are known exactly, and they carry a dramatic, documented story. They are also far rarer than finds.
Meteorites are divided into falls, seen coming down and then recovered, and finds, discovered later with no record of their arrival. Finds vastly outnumber falls. Of the tens of thousands of officially recognised meteorites, only a small fraction, fewer than one in fifty, are witnessed falls, and only a handful are added each year. Rarity alone gives falls special appeal.
Freshness matters too. As soon as a meteorite lands, Earth's air and water begin to attack it: metal rusts, minerals alter and organic compounds become contaminated. A desert find may have lain for thousands of years. A meteorite recovered quickly after a witnessed fall is as close to its condition in space as most of us will ever handle, often with a crisp black fusion crust formed during its blazing descent. Scientists value such material for the same reason; the Winchcombe meteorite, collected within days of falling in Gloucestershire in 2021, was especially important because it was so little altered.
Then there is the story. A fall comes with a date, a place and often eyewitness accounts, photographs or camera-network footage. Some have remarkable histories: the Ensisheim stone of 1492 is among the oldest preserved falls; the Peekskill meteorite of 1992 hit a parked car in New York State after its fireball was filmed by many people; and the Sylacauga meteorite of 1954 struck a woman, Ann Hodges, in Alabama. Collectors like to own a specimen connected to an event they can read about, and pieces that hit a building or object add extra interest.
Provenance is easier too, since falls are usually well documented and their names well known. As with any meteorite, buy only officially named material from reputable sources, and remember that recovering a fresh fall still requires the landowner's permission.