Topic

#Collecting and the law

Owning, buying and looking after meteorites responsibly, and the laws that protect them.

Lessons (3)

Collecting responsibly: ethics and the lawMeteorites are scientific specimens, cultural objects and sometimes legally protected property.
How meteorites get their namesEvery officially recognised meteorite has a unique name. Learning how names work helps you read any meteorite label or catalogue.
Looking after meteorites, and staying safeMeteorites are precious pieces of science. In this last beginner lesson you will learn how to treat them, and yourself, with care.

Courses (2)

Collecting, the law and caring for meteoritesMeteorites are both scientific specimens and collectable objects. This final lesson covers ownership, export rules, ethics and how to store
Meteorites in historyPeople have treasured meteorites for thousands of years. This final lesson visits Ancient Egypt and medieval France, and ends with how to lo

Books (1)

The Meteorite Collector's HandbookA meteorite collection can hold pieces of asteroids, Vesta, the Moon and Mars. This handbook explains every major class, from ordinary chond

Famous meteorites (3)

Gao-GuenieA shower of stones over Burkina Faso in 1960 that became one of the most widely distributed meteorites in the world.
HolbrookIn 1912 thousands of stones rained down near a railway station in the Arizona desert – and people are still finding them.
PultuskIn 1868 a fireball over Poland released one of the largest showers of stones ever recorded – tens of thousands of them.

Space missions (1)

GenesisA sample of the Sun itself, which survived a crash landing and rewrote the Solar System's oxygen story.

Glossary (11)

Questions and answers (38)

Are meteorite watches and jewellery made from real meteorites?Many are. Watch dials and jewellery are often made from slices of iron meteorites such as Gibeon or Muonionalusta, but imitations exist, so
Are meteorites sold at auction?Yes. Major auction houses hold sales of meteorites, especially large irons, pallasites, lunar and Martian specimens and historic falls, alon
Are tiny meteorite fragments worth collecting?Yes. Small fragments and micromounts are affordable, take little space and can represent rare types that would be unaffordable as large spec
Can I collect meteorites in Antarctica?No, not privately. Meteorites in Antarctica are collected by national scientific programmes under the Antarctic Treaty and are used for rese
Can I donate a meteorite to science?Yes. Museums, universities and research collections accept donations of meteorites, especially well-documented ones, and donating material i
Can I take meteorites out of the country where they were found?Only if that country's law allows it: many countries freely permit export, but others protect meteorites as heritage and require permits
Can I trade meteorites with other collectors?Yes. Trading is common among collectors. Exchange only well-documented specimens, keep records, and make sure both sides understand the term
Can I travel by air with a meteorite?Usually yes, but rules vary. Meteorites are not generally dangerous goods, but customs and export laws apply, and some countries restrict or
Do I need permission to hunt for meteorites?Yes. Always get permission from the landowner, and check national and local laws, because some countries treat meteorites as state property
How do I catalogue a meteorite collection?Give each specimen a number, and record its name, classification, mass, fall or find date, location, source, price, date acquired and photog
How do I clean dirt off a meteorite?Generally, don't clean it, or only gently brush off loose soil. Water, chemicals and wire brushes can damage the crust and cause rust.
How do I photograph a meteorite well?Use soft, even light, a plain background, a scale cube or ruler, sharp focus, and several views: whole specimen, crust detail and cut face.
How do I post or ship a meteorite safely?Pack it in a padded inner box with desiccant inside a sturdy outer box, use tracked and insured delivery, and include paperwork for internat
How do I read a meteorite label?A typical label gives the official name, classification, fall or find date, location, mass and source.
How do I start a meteorite collection?Start small and well documented: buy a few inexpensive, officially classified specimens of different types from reputable sellers, learn abo
How do I stop an iron meteorite from rusting?Keep it as dry as possible with silica gel in an airtight container, handle it with gloves, never wash it in water, and, for cut and polishe
How should I display meteorites at home?Use closed display cases or boxes away from moisture and direct sunlight, include desiccant for irons, use stable stands, and keep labels wi
How should I store a meteorite?Keep meteorites dry, clean and labelled, ideally in individual boxes with silica gel in a stable, low-humidity room, and handle them as litt
Is it legal to own a meteorite?In many countries it is legal to own a meteorite that was lawfully found, bought or exported, but the rules vary widely; some countries trea
Is Libyan Desert Glass a meteorite?No. Libyan Desert Glass is natural silica glass found in western Egypt, formed about 29 million years ago, probably by the heat of an impact
Should I clean a meteorite?Usually as little as possible: brush off loose dirt gently, keep it dry, and avoid water, chemicals, scrubbing or grinding, which can destro
What are paired meteorites?Paired meteorites are separate specimens that turn out to come from the same fall, even though they were found at different times or places
What equipment do meteorite hunters use?Hunters rely on sharp eyes, a strong magnet, a metal detector, GPS, clean bags or foil, a camera and a notebook, and increasingly on firebal
What is a meteorite slice?A meteorite slice is a thin section cut from a meteorite with a diamond saw and usually polished, revealing internal features such as chondr
What is a type specimen?A type specimen is the portion of a newly classified meteorite that is deposited permanently in a recognised scientific collection, so resea
What is the difference between a slice, an end cut and an individual?An individual is a whole meteorite; an end cut is the end piece left after slicing, with crust on one side; a slice is a thin section cut fr
What is the Meteoritical Bulletin?The Meteoritical Bulletin is the official record of newly approved meteorite names, published by the Meteoritical Society, together with a s
What makes one meteorite more valuable than another?Rarity of type, whether it was a witnessed fall, freshness, beauty, historic importance, size and shape, an official classification and trus
What safety rules should pupils follow on a rock-collecting trip?Get permission, stay with the group, avoid cliffs and tides, wear suitable clothing, use tools only under supervision and respect protected
What should a beginner's meteorite collection include?Start with affordable, representative specimens: an ordinary chondrite, an iron, perhaps a stony-iron slice and an achondrite, each with its
What should I do with a meteorite I have inherited?Keep it safe and dry with any labels, find out what it is, and decide whether to keep, donate or sell it, seeking advice from a museum or re
What should I take on a meteorite hunt?A strong magnet on a stick, a GPS or phone, a camera, clean foil or bags, labels and pen, water, sun or weather protection, and the landowne
Where is the best place to find meteorites?Hot and cold deserts are best: dry conditions preserve meteorites for thousands of years and dark stones stand out on pale ground.
Who owns a meteorite that falls on my land?In many countries a meteorite belongs to the owner of the land where it lands, but this is not universal; some countries claim meteorites fo
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, docume
Why do historic meteorite falls have special value?Historic falls carry stories, early scientific importance and limited supply, so specimens from them are prized by collectors and museums.
Why do some meteorites cost far more than gold?Because some kinds are far rarer than gold. Thousands of tonnes of gold are mined every year, but some meteorite types are known from only a
Why do some meteorites have numbers instead of names?In places where many meteorites are found, such as deserts and Antarctica, they are named after the region plus a number, such as NWA 7034 o

Micrometeorites (3)

The people who opened up the study of micrometeoritesFrom Victorian oceanographers to a jazz guitarist, a small number of people turned space dust from a curiosity into a major field of planeta
How to search for micrometeorites yourself, safelyYou do not need to go to Antarctica. With permission, a bucket of sediment from the foot of a downpipe, some water, a magnet, sieves and a m
Catching space dust in the stratosphereThe smallest space dust can be caught before it ever touches the ground. Since the 1970s, high-flying aircraft have collected interplanetary

People (2)

Henry WardThe naturalist from Rochester, New York, who supplied museums worldwide and built one of the largest private meteorite collections of his ag
Steve ArnoldThe American meteorite hunter who dug up a 650-kilogram pallasite at Brenham, Kansas, in 2005.

Britain and Ireland (1)

Found something in the UK or Ireland?Think you have found a meteorite in Britain or Ireland? Home checks, what not to do, recording the find spot, who identifies meteorites, rep

Hunting and collecting (1)

Caring for meteoritesHow to store, handle and display meteorites: why irons rust and weep, lawrencite, safe humidity levels, desiccants, storage materials and fr

Meteorite law (31)

Meteorite law in AntarcticaUnder the Antarctic Treaty system, meteorites may be collected only for science, by national programmes, and they are not for sale.
Meteorite law in AustriaNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. Ordinary property law applies; ask the landowner, and the Natural History Museum in Vienna ca
Meteorite law in BotswanaNo meteorite-specific rule that we can confirm. The 2018 fall of asteroid 2018 LA was searched by scientists with official approval.
Meteorite law in CanadaMeteorites may be owned and sold inside Canada, but any meteorite found in Canada needs an export permit under the Cultural Property Export
Meteorite law in ChileNo law written for meteorites. Heritage law protects archaeological and palaeontological objects; whether it covers meteorites is debated.
Meteorite law in Costa RicaNo meteorite-specific rule that we can confirm. Aguas Zarcas stones of 2019 were kept and sold by those who found them, with samples shared
Meteorite law in CzechiaNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. Searches of recent falls are usually led by scientists with landowners' permission.
Meteorite law in DenmarkMeteorites found in Denmark are danekræ, natural treasures that belong to the state. Finders must hand them in and receive a payment.
Meteorite law in EstoniaNo meteorite law that we can confirm, but the Kaali crater field is a protected site where collecting is not allowed.
Meteorite law in FinlandNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. Ask the landowner; the Finnish Museum of Natural History advises on finds.
Meteorite law in FranceNo specific law. Court decisions have gone both ways between landowner and finder; recent case law has treated a meteorite as ownerless, so
Meteorite law in GermanyNo meteorite law. Lawyers disagree over whether a fall belongs to the landowner or the finder; heritage law in some states may claim importa
Meteorite law in IranNo meteorite-specific rule that we can confirm. The Lut Desert has yielded many finds; export of natural-history objects needs permission.
Meteorite law in IrelandNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. Heritage law protects archaeological objects; for meteorites, ask the landowner and the Natio
Meteorite law in IsraelNo meteorite-specific rule that we can confirm. Collecting in nature reserves is forbidden. We know of no Israeli law written for meteorites
Meteorite law in ItalyNo rule fixing ownership by place of find. Meteorite collections in museums are protected as cultural heritage, and export of cultural goods
Meteorite law in JapanNo law written for meteorites. Under the Civil Code, falls have generally stayed with the owners of the land or homes they hit.
Meteorite law in NamibiaMeteorites are protected national heritage. They should not be removed from where they lie, and export needs official permission.
Meteorite law in the NetherlandsNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. Ownership follows ordinary property law; ask the landowner first.
Meteorite law in New ZealandMeteorites are protected objects. They may be owned, usually by the landowner, but exporting one needs a licence from the Ministry for Cultu
Meteorite law in NorwayNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. Ordinary property law applies, and the Natural History Museum in Oslo advises finders.
Meteorite law in OmanMeteorites are treated as national heritage. Collecting, possessing, trading and exporting them without official permission is prohibited, a
Meteorite law in PolandNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. The Morasko meteorite site near Poznań is a nature reserve where collecting is forbidden.
Meteorite law in Saudi ArabiaNo meteorite-specific rule that we can confirm. Collecting and export need official permission; ask the Saudi Geological Survey.
Meteorite law in SlovakiaNo meteorite-specific law that we can confirm. The Košice fall of 2010 was recovered by organised scientific searches.
Meteorite law in South AfricaUnder the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999, all meteorites are the property of the state. Collecting, owning, trading or exporting on
Meteorite law in SwedenIn 2025 the Supreme Court ruled that a newly fallen meteorite is movable property, so the finders who took it, not the landowner, owned it.
Meteorite law in SwitzerlandOwnerless natural objects of scientific value belong to the canton where they are found. The finder is entitled to a reward of up to half th
Meteorite law in the United Arab EmiratesNo meteorite-specific rule that we can confirm. Ask the relevant emirate's authorities before collecting or exporting.
Meteorite law in the United KingdomNo law written for meteorites. The landowner is generally regarded as having the best claim; the Treasure Act does not apply to natural obje
Meteorite law in the United StatesMeteorites belong to the owner of the land where they are found. Federal land has its own rules, including a 10-pound yearly limit for hobby