Blaine Reed Meteorites List 139 - Summer Meteorite Bargains

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
LIST 139

July 16, 2013

Dear Collectors,

Here is a second "summer bargains" list.

DAR al GANI (476), Libya: Martian Shergottite, olivine phyric. Found 1998. Tkw = 2015 grams,
This is a small ½ end piece where most of the back is the natural (mostly caliche covered) exterior. There is one edge that looks to be a fresh break so I think that this was a larger end piece that some one broke in half at some point. The interior is the usual dark olivine clasts in a green matrix.
.73 gram end piece - 12mm x 8mm x 5mm - $350

NWA (2907): Anomalous achondrite. Found 2005. Tkw = 203 grams.
Not sure why the bulletin says that there is 586 grams of this. I suspect that either there is an error or more of it turned up after I submitted it for research (I am still listed as the "main mass" holder though). Regardless, this is strange stuff. I remember Ted Bunch calling this the "bastard diogenite" because it had such strange chemistry/ mineralogy. It is quite different in appearance from anything else that I can think of. It has a fairly fine crystalline texture (kind of a mix of brown and greenish brown) with a few somewhat larger (1mm or so) darker clasts. This nice end piece could easily be cut into numerous slices if one desired.
19.0 gram end piece - 25mm x 17mm x 17mm - $300 SOLD

NWA (5784): Diogenite / DUNITE. Found 2006. Tkw = 2.6 kilograms.
The total known on this is a bit misleading as the bulk of this stone (all but a few hundred grams I think) were donated to a museum in Canada, so very little is available to collectors. I labeled this Diogenite / Dunite as there has been a change in how all of these things (normal diogenites, "olivine diogenites"and dunites) are named in the Meteoritical Bulletin. Now they are all given the classification of Diogenite. You have to look a little deeper for the details. "Normal" diogenites are orthopyroxenites, olivine diogenites are Harzburgite and for those few (and I do mean few, I think there are only 3 or 4 dunites known at this point) that are over 90% olivine the sub type is "dunite". Regardless of how it is labeled, this is a very rare and important meteorite. This particular piece is a cut fragment (may have some very thin secondary crust on the back but I am going to play it safe and call it weathering) -the only one I have I believe. The interior is an interesting mottled mix of colors ranging from very light tan (nearly white) to dark brown.
13.5 gram cut fragment - 40mm x 35mm x 7mm - $700

NWA (7252): carbonaceous (CK5). Found before February 2007. Tkw = 276.1 grams.
Here is a solid piece that could easily be cut up and sold as slices or enjoyed for the nice display piece as it is. This has distinct contraction cracked fusion crust (all be it wind polished) covering probably 65 to 70% of this piece. There is a 44mm x 39mm cut face and the remainder is an old break of thin secondary crust. The interior is a mixed medium gray and tan with only a few indistinct chondrules visible. This lot consists of the 231 gram main mass and a 6.8 gram slice.
231.3 gram main mass - 50mm x 45mm x 40mm - $1700

PERRYTON, Texas: (LL6). Found 1975. Tkw = 2114 grams.
This is a meteorite I turned up out of the field many years ago and have little recollection of it. It was obviously one of the few that I ended up selling off (to raise money for more field work) before it was ever cut or finished with research. Regardless, this is my last piece of this (I think I only had 50 or 60 grams of it to begin with) and priced at less than half what it was priced at.
8.1 gram slice - 42mm x 20mm x 3mm - $95

ORGUEIL, France: carbonaceous (CI1). Fell May 14, 1864. Tkw = 10.5+ kilograms.
This is a fairly solid piece of this really crumbly stuff. It was part of a 1.0 gram piece that broke on shipping to me. This is, by far, my largest piece of this type meteorite (I have plenty of crumbs in capsules and small glass vials).
.70 gram fragment - 12mm x 10mm x 7mm - $650

RICHFIELD, Kansas: (LL3.7). Found 1983. Tkw = 40.8 kilograms.
This is the largest slice out of this large meteorite. This is possibly the largest slice of an LL3 outside of a museum.
1714 gram complete slice - 345mm x 230mm x 7mm - $5000

SEYMCHAN, Russia: (Pallasite). Found 1967.
Here is a piece that, admittedly is not a super bargain as it sits. However, it is what this could become that makes it a deal. It is a highly pallasitic end piece that is loaded with olivine and certainly wouldn't produce anything but purely pallasitic material if cut up. Frankly, I like it just the way it is. It looks and displays nice. This is to big to weigh on any of my really accurate scales. However, I know from the scale that I usually weigh heavier items on that this is something over 6.6 kilograms.
6.6kg pallasitic end piece - 210mm x 135mm x 120mm - $13,000

SIKHOTE-ALIN, Russia: Coarsest octahedrite (IIAB). Fell February 12, 1947.
This is not only a nice, possibly oriented, fusion crusted individual it is also an art piece. This thing developed a fairly long bent tail that twists up from a wide flat base giving this thing the appearance of a scorpion. A really neat and rare piece or the animal shape collector.
307.2 gram scorpion individual - 65mm x 50mm x 55mm - $950

ZAGAMI, Nigeria; Martian (Shergottite). Fell October 3, 1962. Tkw = 18.1 kilograms.
This is a small cut fragment (there is a 5mm x 4mm cut face) in a membrane box. There is no crust so this is a true fragment. This is the thinner grained material and does show a couple thin shock veins.
.178 gram cut fragment - 6mm x 5mm x 4mm - $100