During the 1920's, Daniel Barringer was the first person to strongly believe that the crater in the Arizona desert was a meteorite crater. Up until then (and for years afterwards), it was not generally accepted that meteorite craters existed on Earth. Prominent geologists thought that the crater was actually a remnant of a volcanic feature from the distant past, and the result of a meteorite. Barringer was convinced that the crater was meteoritic in origin, and that the floor of the crater must conceal a massive nickel-iron meteorite that could commercially mined for valuable nickel. Afterall, the desert around the crater was littered with iron shrapnel that was rich in nickel, so surely there must be a huge meteorite hiding somewhere under that crater. For the next few decades, Barringer and his company worked tirelessly to find the meteorite - they dug, they drilled, they mapped, they tested, and they persisted in their belief.
Barringer spent enormous sums of money pursuing his dream of a fortune in nickel-iron, and he sought outside investors to fund this project. He issued stock certificates to investors. Well, there was no big meteorite buried under the crater. Scientists now know that the big iron meteorite was mostly vaporized on impact and all that remains are the tiny shrapnel remnants scattered around the rim. Barringer died without ever finding the huge fortune in nickel he sought, but his family still retains ownership of the crater to this day.
Now these stock certificates are highly collectible - originals go for $1000, if you can find them. I received some scans from someone who owns one of the original certificates. These have been copied and printed onto cardstock paper at approx. 8.5 x 11 inches in size. Refer to the photos. You are purchasing ONE certificate. Note, this is reproduction print and not an original.
