Authenticity and documentation

What a certificate can do

A certificate records the issuer’s statements and attribution. It does not replace scientific classification; its value depends on expertise, transparency and an unambiguous link to the specimen.

What simple tests can and cannot do

A magnet may reveal metal-rich samples, but many terrestrial rocks are magnetic too and some meteorites react only weakly. Density, streak on unglazed ceramic, visible metal and a hand lens help reject obvious lookalikes.

None proves a meteorite alone. Nickel tests may provide clues, while laboratories use thin sections, electron microscopy, microprobe or isotopes. Unknown specimens should not be cut, ground or acid-treated without the owner’s consent.

Provenance: the history of the exact specimen

Strong documentation connects the exact specimen with its name, classification, mass, photograph, seller or finder, date and previous collections. Invoices, old labels and transfer records should be kept together but physically separate from the material.

An official meteorite name confirms that material from that fall or find was recognised. It does not automatically prove that every commercially labelled fragment belongs to it. That link depends on a continuous chain and, where needed, comparative analysis.