Blaine Reed Meteorites List 119 5April2012

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 119
April 5, 2012

Dear Collectors,

Here is the e-mail version of my mailed list that is now landing in the hands of many collectors (including many of you) as I send this. This is going out a bit delayed from when it should have as I was hit with the stomach-flu going around here. This knocked me back for a couple days.

I plan to go to the Denver spring show to visit (will be gone April 19th through the 23rd). Anyone that wants to me to bring anything from this list (or any list for that matter), let me know and I'll pack it along.

I will also be out of town from around May 17th through May 22nd or 23rd. We have an annular eclipse coming to the area (actually a bit South of me) and I hope to travel to some prime spot to see it.

Please note the slightly higher postage amounts: Shipping costs (and overseas shipping regulations) drastically changed January 22nd. This has forced me to increase my rates a bit and has limited overseas shipping options quite a bit (forcing me into either express or a large "flat rate" box (both expensive) for anything with a customs value over $400 – for which registration or insurance is no longer possible. Disturbing; high value now means you can get no real protection).

TAZA (NWA 859), Morocco: Plessitic Octahedrite (ungrouped). Found 2001. Tkw = about 75 kilograms.
I picked up some nice little individuals and a couple "large" (for this stuff anyway) slices of this in Tucson. The small pieces show atmospherically sculpted shapes and most show a fair amount of fusion crust. The slices are etched. BUT the large one is really special. This has a 18mm x 7mm crystal (looks like olivine!) that transmits light through it. This piece is certainly not cheap, but it is positively special.
1) Individuals as found:
a) 1.3 grams - 10mm x 9mm x 2mm - $10.00
b) 2.3 grams - 14mm x 8mm x 5mm - $17.00
c) 4.5 grams - 20mm x 9mm x 5mm - $32.00
d) 10.9 grams - 17mm x 15mm x 8mm - $76.00
2) Slices: etched both sides:
a) 33.2 grams - 50mm x 42mm x 2mm - $265.00
b) 134.5 grams - 150mm x 70mm x 2mm - $2350.00 – has 17mm x 8mm olivine!

CASILDA, Argentina: (H5). Found 1937. Tkw = 18.35 kilograms.
Here is something I picked up at the Denver spring show last year. A rhodochrosite dealer had a couple rough cut hunks of this hiding at the back of one of his tables labeled simply as "stone meteorite". I asked a bit about it and was told that it was from the Rosario area of Argentina. He had the thing sitting in his basement for over 10 years, or not long since after it was found in 2000. A bit of research (and a great deal of luck in locating a couple comparison specimens – thank you Paul Sipiera) showed that this material was another piece of the Casilda meteorite – a barely distributed (H5) that a 5.25kg sample was first found in 1937. This is really nice material. It shows lots of metal in a really interesting mottled dark green and bluish(!) gray matrix.
1) Slices:
a) 6.0 grams - 25mm x 21mm x 4mm - $27.00
b) 12.3 grams - 37mm x 32mm x 4mm - $55.00
c) 24.1 grams - 45mm x 37mm x 5mm - $106.00
d) 53.3 grams - 89mm x 45mm x 4mm - $232.00
e) 100.3 grams - 103mm x 70mm x 4mm - $425.00
f) 223.6 grams - 160mm x 90mm x 4mm - $925.00
g) 452.9 grams - 163mm x 148mm x 5mm - $1800.00 – nice complete slice!

NWA (7019): (L5). Found before September 2011. Tkw = 1440.5 grams.
This is an item that looked promising when I got it at the last Denver show. It showed a good number of large chondrules and a fair number of obvious clasts. I was hoping it might be an LL4 or 5 but it turned out to be an (L5). This shows good number of light gray chondrules (and a fair amount of metal) in a mottled light tan to brown matrix.
1) Slices:
a) 17.2 grams - 40mm x 30mm x 5mm - $17.00
b) 34.7 grams - 50mm x 45mm x 5mm - $34.00
c) 71.0 grams - 70mm x 64mm x 5mm - $70.00 – nice complete slice.

NWA (5515): Carbonaceous chondrite (CK4). Found before November 2007. Tkw = 13.7 kilograms.
This is currently the second largest known CK by weight (only the 26.5kg HaH (280) is larger) and the largest slices here are very likely the largest CK slices (by surface area) in the world (the HaH (280) was found broken into 20 pieces). Regardless, these are all very nice representative and affordable pieces of this very rare meteorite type. I have sizes to fit all collections. These show the typical CK texture of sparse dark gray chondrules in a light gray matrix.
NWA (5515) continued:
1) Slices:
a) 2.4 grams - 16mm x 11mm x 5mm - $30.00
b) 5.1 grams - 21mm x 18mm x 4mm - $60.00
c) 9.9 grams - 36mm x 21mm x 4mm - $110.00
d) 18.6 grams - 43mm x 36mm x 5mm - $200.00
e) 38.3 grams - 68mm x 54mm x 4mm - $400.00
f) 66.3 grams - 95mm x 68mm x 4mm - $665.00
g) 141.2 grams - 145mm x 105mm x 3mm - $1350.00 – nice complete slice.
h) 270.5 grams - 55mm x 140mm x 5mm - $2500.00 – the largest complete slice.

NORTON COUNTY, Kansas: (Aubrite). Fell February 18, 1947. Tkw = 1175+ kilograms.
Here are some nice fragments that came from the Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. They are all "natural" fragments that show the brecciated texture typical for this meteorite (large white clasts in a very light gray back-ground). All of these have a museum number painted on them and come with an Institute of Meteoritics label. Don't wait to long if you are interested in a sample of this. I had a pretty good hand full of these in Tucson and rapidly sold out.
1) Fragments with museum number:
a) 3.3 grams - 16mm x 13mm x 10mm - $115.00
b) 7.2 grams - 24mm x 15mm x 13mm - $250.00
c) 15.0 grams - 30mm x 22mm x 13mm - $525.00
d) 25.8 grams - 30mm x 28mm x 16mm - $850.00
e) 66.3 grams - 52mm x 32mm x 22mm - $2000.00

TISSINT, Morocco: Martian (Shergottite). Fell July 18, 2011. Tkw = over 7 kilograms.
This is the stuff that has been in the news a lot lately. It came out right before we could get to Tucson (and pulled a LOT of money out of the show accordingly). I saw nothing but really high prices on what little of this was available at the show. I was not willing to risk huge sums of money to purchase a substantial amount of this new Mars rock. So, I purchased a small lot of nice (but, admittedly expensive) little fragments to offer here. These are for the person who does not want to invest a fortune in a larger piece or for the person (like me) that just wants to own a specimen now and hopes that the cost will come down a bit so we can upgrade to a larger chunk later. These are in a 55mm x 35mm x 15mm plastic box and, generally, are larger in appearance than their small weights would suggest.
1) Fragments:
a) .0132 grams - 2.5mm x 2mm x 1.5mm - $21.00
b) .0208 grams - 4mm x 2mm x 2mm - $33.00
c) .0318 grams - 4mm x 3mm x 2mm - $51.00
d) .21 grams - 7mm x 6mm x 4mm - $150.00 – sold but getting more.
e) .28 grams - 8mm x 7mm x 4mm - $200.00 – sold but trying to get more.
2) Fragments that have melt pockets/ veins:
a) .0156 grams - 2.5mm x 2mm x 2mm - $27.00
b) .0218 grams - 3.5mm x 2.5mm x 3mm - $38.00
c) .0260 grams - 3.5mm x 3mm x 3mm - $46.00

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1882. Tkw = several tons.
Actually, the piece that these were cut from was recovered in the NW ¼ of Section 28, Brenham Township in 2006. This was a really nice pallisitic sample weighing 351 pounds. I have sold a good number of beautiful complete slices of this the past year and a half (I bought one myself), but these are the first small pieces I have had. So far, this has proven to be very stable material. My piece (a 2200g range complete slice) has not developed a speck of rust in the 1 year 8 months that I have had it and I have given it no special care or storage what so ever! (a "bad" Brenham would have long since fallen apart in that amount of time). I even made this one my main collection pallasite display piece.
1) Slices:
a) 14.2 grams - 30mm x 15mm x 6mm - $57.00
b) 27.8 grams - 31mm x 29mm x 6mm - $110.00
c) 56.3 grams - 64mm x 32mm x 6mm - $220.00
d) 78.5 grams - 60mm x 50mm x 6mm - $300.00
e) 215.0 grams - 75mm x 73mm x 7mm - $800.00
f) 1691 grams - 410mm x 290mm x 3mm - $5900.00 – passes light through many crystals.
g) 3282 grams - 540mm x 290mm x 4mm - $10,500.00 – complete slice, 10cm diameter Chromite!

Please include postage: $3 on small U.S. orders and $11 on large items for first class (insurance is extra, if desired). On small overseas orders, $5 is generally plenty (I'll have to custom figure the rate for large items). Registration is also recommended on more important overseas shipments - an extra $12.00.
If you are sending a fax, simply begin transmitting when my line is answered. My fax will turn on automatically to receive (or I will start it if I answer) when you begin transmitting.