Tuesday 1 June 2010

[brmeteorites_list] List 89 - Oklahoma Meteorite rarities

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487

........................... LIST 89

June 1, 2010

Dear Collectors,

Here is a list of some really special and rare (2 falls and 3 carbonaceous!) items from Oklahoma. There are things here that I have only ever seen a piece or two of and some that I have never encountered a sample of before. Only a few couple items here are what I would call generally available (Carnegie, Kingfisher perhaps), but even these are not often encountered these days. These are the ONLY pieces of these I have available, so don't wait to contact me if you want to add any of these named rarities to your collection.

CADDO COUNTY, Oklahoma: (IAB) silicated iron. Found 1987. Tkw = 18 kilograms.
This is the only "iron" on this list. Frankly, it looks more like a stony-iron (definitely NOT your typical silicated iron). The silicates in this piece (making up something like 80% of the specimen) are a mix of quasi-gemmy green and brown crystals. I remember when this stuff first came out. There were many (including researchers) that thought that this was going to be the world's second known Lodranite. This all disappeared into collections quite rapidly. I have not had a piece to offer in many years.
58.1 gram end piece - 50mm x 37mm x 15mm - $1000

AMBER, Oklahoma: (L6). Found 1934. Tkw = 4532 grams.
A single stone was recognized in 1955. There is some suspicion that it could be another piece of Cahion or Kingfisher. I am quite certain that it does not match Kingfisher (as I have a piece here to compare it to). This has a mixed green and brown matrix that shows a few black shock lines (where as Kingfisher is nearly black and shows very little structure). This is one that I have never seen a sample of before. It is from the Dupont collection (through a trade).
10.6 gram 1/4 slice - 50mm x 26mm x 3mm - $100

ATOKA, Oklahoma: (L6). Fell September 17, 1945. Tkw = 1384 grams.
A number of fragments of this were recovered. Most of this is tied up in museum collections (I believe this one came from the Monig collection) so very little has been available to collectors (A have only seen/ handled a few grams of this stuff over the years). This is a fresh elongate part slice (2 cut edges) that has fresh crust along one 10mm long edge.
2.07 gram part slice - 22mm x 9mm x 2.5mm - $300

BURNS FLAT, Oklahoma: (L6). Found 1971. Tkw = 1987 grams.
This is a nice 1/2 slice. This is fairly fresh stuff. It has a nice light tan to light brown interior with lots of metal (for an L). Most ( about 2/3) of the edge shows fairly thick black to chocolate brown crust. I sold Jim this specimen, but I don't recall much about the stuff (it was 8 or more years ago), other than that only a few slices were available to collectors.
64.8 gram 1/2 slice - 65mm x 60mm x 6mm - $390

CARNEGIE, Oklahoma: (L6). Found 1963. Tkw = 132.7 kilograms.
A single large stone was found while terracing a field. There was a fair amount of this available years ago (even though the bulk of the stuff went into the Huss collection). It has been fairly scarce recently. I think I had a large (expensive) piece, from the same person that owns this one, a couple years ago. Here is a good affordable sample to add to your collection.
19.0 gram 1/2 end piece (book-end cut) - 53mm x 29mm x 6mm - $50

EVA, Oklahoma: (H5), polymict breccia. Found 1965. Tkw = 6.7 kilograms.
One fragment that was likely less than 1/2 of the original mass was found (the other piece was never located, at least it has not been reported). This is a specimen from the Dupont collection and another one of those that I have never seen a piece of before.
14.9 gram part slice - 32mm x 27mm x 6mm - $135

KEYES, Oklahoma: (L6). Found 1939. Tkw = 142 kilograms.
Interesting in that it has a large known weight, but this is the first piece of this meteorite I have encountered (another Dupont collection trade). This is an aesthetic specimen. It is a mixed very light tan/gray with dark brown blotches in the interior. This also has two museum collection numbers on it (one Dupont?).
12.47 gram slice - 40mm x 33mm x 3mm - $80

KINGFISHER, Oklahoma: (L5). Found 1950. Tkw = 8.18 kilograms.
This is a nice 1/2 slice from the Monig collection. It has three different Labels on it; one is a had-written label (name and weight) done on a sticker by Art Ehlmann at TCU, another is a Monig number (M219.2) likely painted on by Glenn Huss (he did a bunch of cataloging and labeling work for the Monig collection years ago) and a third that is simply a typed (on cloth and lacquered to the specimen) 28:5 above the Monig number (no idea of origin of this one).
42.9 gram 1/2 slice - 75mm x 45mm x 4mm - $170

LOGAN, Oklahoma: (H5). Found 1923. Tkw = 45.5 kilograms.
Two weathered masses (of 43kg and 2.5kg) were reported (in April of 1939) as being found. This is another where the bulk (pretty much all?) of the material is tied up in museum collections (this one came from the Dupont collection).
9.0 gram end piece - 27mm x 18mm x 17mm - $100

COLONY, Oklahoma: Carbonaceous Chondrite (CO3.0). Found 1975. Tkw = 3912 grams.
This stone was found stuck in the tines of a cotton cultivator. It is a super rare (and highly desired) type 3.0! There used to be a fair amount of this available years ago (at around $100/g), but I have seen very little in recent years.
3.48 gram 1/2 slice - 23mm x 20mm x 3mm - $435

CRESCENT, Oklahoma: Carbonaceous (CM2). Fell August 17, 1936. Tkw = 78.4 grams.
Wow, now this is a rare one! I think this may be the rarest witnessed fall I have ever handled. This piece has it all; rare type, tiny total known weight and even shows a good patch of fusion crust (about 12mm x 9mm).
1.09 gram fragment with crust - 15mm x 12mm x 7mm - $1900

WEATHERFORD, Oklahoma: Carbonaceous Bencubbinite (CBa). Found 1926. Tkw = 2 kilograms.
This is another extreme rarity. I got a larger (4 or 8 gram, I don't recall) piece for the current owner years ago. He had it wire-sawed into a few thinner pieces (I think I sold one piece off for him a few years ago, other pieces probably helped trade for some of the things listed here). These are the only samples of this meteorite I have ever had (and the only US Bencubbinite I have ever handled). This is a nice aesthetic thin slice that shows a great mix of silicate areas and metal blobs. Small by weight, but still very representative in texture.
1.83 gram part slice - 18mm x 13mm x 2mm - $1000