“This price increases with a small amount of the fallen”

125 years ago, on May 25, 1898, the owner of the Russian land, Emperor Nicholas II, recognized the “fruits of the sky” – meteorites – as state property; and four months later, rules for the transfer of heavenly stones to state institutions appeared; moreover, the sums paid to those who found these rarities, without any exaggeration, could be called amazing.

From the opinion of the State Council approved by Emperor Nicholas II “On the recognition of meteorites as state property”, May 25, 1898.

The Council of State, in the United Departments of Civil and Spiritual Affairs, Laws and State Economy and in the General Assembly, having considered the proposal of the Administrator of the Ministry of Public Education on the recognition of meteorites as state property, decided by opinion:

I. Decide the following rules regarding meteorites.

1) Meteorites (meteor stones, aerolites, stones falling from the sky) are state property and are subject to transfer to government natural history museums.

2) The person who found the meteorite is obliged either to send it to the museum (Article 1), of his choice, or to hand over the meteorite to one of the officials of the educational department or local administration, or to tell the museum or one of the indicated officials about the location of the meteorite , for their discretionary orders regarding its delivery to the museum. The finder of the meteorite, in case of not specifying the museum he has chosen, is announced to which museum the meteorite was transferred.

II. To grant to the Minister of Public Education, at the same time as the promulgation of this legislation (Section I), to issue, in communication with the Ministers of the Interior, Justice and Finance, and publish in the prescribed manner, through the Governing Senate, to the public, rules regarding the reward of persons who delivered meteorites to appointment or announced their discovery …

From the “Regulations on the Remuneration of Persons Finding Meteorites for Delivering Such to Government Museums of Natural History”, approved on September 16, 1898.

1. By virtue of the opinion of the State Council approved on May 25, 1898, the meteorites (meteor stones, aerolites, stones falling from the sky) are state property and are subject to transfer to government natural history museums, such as: the mineralogical museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, mineralogical and geological collections of the Imperial Universities, the Museum of the Mining Institute, the collection of the Geological Committee, the mineral collections of the Agricultural Institute in Moscow and the Institute of Agriculture and Forestry in New Alexandria, provincial government museums that exist or will subsequently open, in which there are geological or mineralogical meetings, eg. Tiflis Museum, etc.

2. The person who found the meteorite is obliged either to send it to the museum (Article 1) of his choice, or to hand over the meteorite to one of the officials of the educational department or local administration, or to tell the museum or one of the indicated officials about the location of the meteorite for their discretionary orders regarding its delivery to the museum. The finder of the meteorite, in case of not specifying the museum he has chosen, is announced to which museum the meteorite was transferred.

3. The person presenting the meteorite is given a reward in the amount of 5% of the cost of the meteorite, determined in each individual case by the institution in which the meteorite was deposited.

4. The price of meteorites weighing over 50 grams is determined from 10 kopecks. up to one rub. per gram, depending on the properties of the meteorite and its size, and this price increases with a small amount of material that has fallen out (several meteor stones of the same composition that fell at the same time are considered in relation to determining their value for one meteorite). The cost of meteorites weighing less than 50 grams is determined separately, without adhering to the specified valuation rules. The price of meteorites weighing over 10,000 gr. and up to 100,000 grams can be calculated by proportionally reducing the cost of 1 gram from 10 to 5 kopecks.

5. 5% remuneration is paid from the funds of the institution that purchased the meteorite.

6. Both this acquisition and the assessment made of the meteorite are published to the public in the publication of the aforementioned institution and in the Journal of the Ministry of Public Education.

7. The finder of a meteorite is granted the right to his first scientific study (chemical, microscopic analysis, etc.), for which, if the meteorite weighs 50–100 grams, no more than 1/5 of its part can be spent. For more significant meteorites, the amount is determined at 20 grams. The material for research is determined by agreement with the institution in which the meteorite was deposited. The material remaining from processing, including microscopic preparations, must be returned to the institution.

8. In the event that the institution where the meteorite was delivered does not find it possible to acquire it on the specified conditions, it shall notify the other institutions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this. If several such institutions wish to make this acquisition, the appointment of the meteorite is given by the Minister of Public Education.

9. If the acquisition of a meteorite, due to the high amount of remuneration due for its discovery, requires the release of a special amount, then the appointment of a storage place for the meteorite is given by the Ministry, at the request or with whose permission this amount is allocated.

10. All further orders regarding meteorites received by government agencies, separation of parts for exchange, for new scientific research, etc., are left to the discretion of these agencies. The measures taken by the latter must be published in the publications mentioned in paragraph 6 for general information …

(Documents of that time indicated that rare meteorites were equivalent to gold. In Transbaikalia, at the same time, schlich gold was bought from owners of plots at 0.94–1.08 rubles per gram, and miners were paid 0.23–0.71 rubles per gram , which was many times more than the payments to those who found meteorites.— “Story”).

Publication by Evgeny Zhirnov