Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale-List 233: Fresh from CR Aguas Zarcas and more

List 233: Fresh from Costa Rica Aguas Zarcas and more

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
LIST 233

December 17, 2019

Dear collectors,

I am back from my Costa Rica trip. It was overall an enjoyable trip, though often quite warm and sticky (I am not used to humidity, even at relatively cooler temperatures). Kevin’s side of the country was, for the most part, sunny and dry. The dry season, with its strong winds out of the east, was setting in (we did still get some time of sitting in the clouds and watching fog drift by thing – a very, very rare thing for me to see in my part of Colorado but common where he is perched up on the top of a mountain). However, I feared that this might mean that the other side of the mountains might be rainy. I figured the clouds carrying moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to the east might end up getting the moisture wrung out of them as they got stuck against the easterly mountainsides and made their way up and over. Yep, this is indeed what we found. Aguas Zarcas was heavy cloud cover, lots of rain, some (generally minor) wind and at times surprisingly chilly for a tropical area. All of this certainly meant that we weren’t going to be out stomping around looking for specimens on our own (also because it was a bad time for lots of really dangerous snakes in the area. Unlike the ”nope ropes and danger noodles” crawling around my area theirs don’t make any noise to let you know you are getting to close. I have indeed managed to avoid getting bit by a rattle snake hidden in the leaves on a trail a couple times by knowing what they sound like - and that sound ain’t like they present it in the movies folks). So, we had to limit ourselves to meteorites that locals had already found. Unfortunately, it seems that not much is being found any more. Some of the few pieces that were recovered recently are certainly showing their age (I hand picked and avoided those, paying a higher price to do so of coarse) and other pieces (that looked to have been recovered quite earlier) seem to have become special family heirlooms (“not for sale”). Oh well, at least I tried. The few things I did pick up are listed here below at a price only a little lower than I have offered similar pieces in the past (but then, I didn’t really pay much less at the site and am not even including the travel expenses as part of these piece’s direct cost at this point). I am having trouble deciding what piece(s) I want to keep for myself so I thought I’d let fate decide – I’ll keep whatever is the nicest piece listed below that does not sell from this offering.

The other items on this list are the last of the Riker mounted display pieces I picked up as a collection during the Denver Show. All of these have labels and it turns out that one more of these is also a Casper labeled piece that had that label hidden under another different one. I’ll make notes in the descriptions below of what labels come with each specimen.

NOTE: As with the last offering, shipping on most of these (everything but the Aguas Zarcas) is going to be a bit higher (around $5 or $6 for a single item for basic US) as these, being in glass fronted display boxes, will have to be shipped packed in boxes. My usual jewelry boxes in a padded envelope won’t work for most of these pieces.

List 233
Click on Image to Enlarge

AGUAS ZARCAS, Costa Rica: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM2). Fell April 23, 2019.. These purchased Dec 9th, 2019.
These are the pieces that, as mentioned above, I bought on the trip I just got back from. These are all natural fragments (though the largest has some claim to being a complete individual) and, after a light cleaning on my part, are quite fresh. Each has at least some fusion crust present (actually, all but the smallest have quite substantial amounts of crust). As mentioned above, the largest piece looks like it could be considered a complete individual. It has around 45% nice thick primary crust coverage with the remainder being angular “broken” surfaces. However, careful inspection shows non-sharp (micro roll-over) edges on the primary crust where it meats one of these “breaks”. Also, a hand lens shows obvious (but small) patches of thicker fusion crust on the high spots of most of these broken surfaces (so they can’t be “after the fall” breaks). One surface looks to be crusted so thin that it looks almost like a smoke coating. There is some hints of smoothing of the break as well as the fact that no real inside texture/ structure can be seen (aside from a couple larger chondrules poking through perhaps) whereas the other fragments (clearly showing post fall breaks) the interior structure is clearly visible. Regardless, I am not pricing this piece higher because of any of this.
1) Natural fragments. All have some crust:
a) 4.4 gram fragment – 16mm x 15mm x 15mm - $350 – about 15% crust covered.
b) 5.0 gram fragment – 20mm x 20mm x 10mm - $400 – about 45% crusted.
c) 7.4 gram fragment – 25mm x 18mm x 12mm - $590 – about 50% crusted.
d) 22.2 gram fragment/ individual – 32mm x 28mm x 20mm - $1700

BRENHAM, Kansas: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found 1882.
This is a Riker display that has two part slices – one 3.4g (17mm x 12mm x 5mm) and the other 13.5g (25mm x 20mm x 9mm). This has two labels; one (unnamed) that has the two weights as 3.4g and 14.2g. The label that was hidden underneath was a Casper label (for the 3.4g piece) that has “Happy Holidays!” written in the ‘Remarks” line. The larger piece looks to have a Nininger number on it. It certainly has the exact look of a Nininger number paint job, starts with the proper “10” for a Nininger Brenham but the next number/ letter is damaged enough to make it unclear exactly what was painted here (the last 3 look to be 119 though this could be “10M19”). This piece is also the typical thickness that Nininger would have cut back then.
2 part slices – 3.4g and 13.5g (possible Nininger piece) in Riker - $100

CAPE YORK, Greenland: Iron. Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1818.
Now this is a neat little Riker display. It has a label identifying the Meteorite (name, type, etc.) with “1 GM” handwritten on it, a nice etched 15mm x 10mm thin slice of the meteorite in a gemstone holder and a commemorative Greenland postage stamp (that looks to be from 1978). The stamp seems to show what looks like might be an ancient knife/ tool of some sort (this is indeed what the locals used these meteorites for) on a background of a large etched slice. I am assuming the “1GM” is the rough weight of the slice, but I didn’t pull all of this apart to find out.
15mm x 10mm etched slice, stamp and label in Riker box - $90

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa: Stony-iron (Mesosiderite). Fell May 10, 1879. Tkw = about 320kg.
This is a thick part slice that has its larger portion being the silicate material (though there are still substantial chunks of iron, they show a bit better on the backside). This comes with a metal “meteoritelabels.com” label with the proper 4.75GM weight written in pencil in the specimen weight space.
4.75 gram part slice – 20mm x 13mm x 6mm - $90

HOLBROOK, Arizona: Ordinary chondrite. (L/LL6). Fell July 19, 1912.
Here are two nice complete fresh individuals in a Riker display. These come with a Schooler’s label that has the pair weight of 1.6grams. Yep, this is exactly what my scale got. The smaller piece weighed .68g on my scale and the larger was .92g. The larger piece has some areas of secondary crust (of the type and thickness that leaves no doubt that it is secondary crust, unlike some of the areas on the largest Aguas Zarcas listed above) but is NOT broken and is certainly a complete individual (the smaller piece is pretty much completely covered in primary crust).
2 complete individuals .68g, .92g in Riker with Schooler label -$40

MILLBILLILLIE, Australia: HED achondrite (Eucrite). Fell 1960/ found 1970.
This is a part slice of the more unusual fine-grained textured area of this meteorite (the vast majority of Millbillillie showed a brighter black and white salt and pepper texture). This piece has one natural edge that shows some weathered fusion crust that has some of the orange spots/ staining that shows that this really is a Millbillillie. This has a nice label with it but this does not say who’s label (Ann E. Nonimus??) it was. This label has the weight as 2.4 grams but my scale showed this as 2.2 grams.
2.2 gram part slice – 22mm x 10mm x 3mm - $30

NORTON COUNTY, Kansas: Enstatite achndrite (Aubrite). Fell February 18, 1948.
This is a Riker containing two small fragments of this meteorite along with a Schooler’s label. The label has these as .8g together and this is indeed what my scale showed. Each of these fragments is roughly 10mm x 5mm in size.
2 fragments totaling .8g in Riker with Schooler’s label - $25

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale - List 220

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

                            LIST 220

October 30, 2018

Dear collectors,

It has been awhile since I posted a list. I seem to have been living in a full speed run since the Denver show. That run yet continues. I would normally send out this offering on November 6th – the first Tuesday of the month (I may end up switching to the first and third Mondays of the month for these offerings sometime soon as the schedule conflict that had me tied up Mondays has long since gone away) but then I realized that I’ll be leaving the next day for my Socorro trip.

Notes on Socorro, Mew Mexico Mineral Symposium:

As mentioned above, I leave November 7th and should be back home November 14th (This assumes good weather. As I have to go over some of the toughest passes – Red Mountain, etc. I could end up leaving a day earlier or getting back home a day later if bad weather sets in). Assuming no disasters (I have had a lot of problems with motels simply loosing my reservations this year) I will, as usual, be set up at the Comfort Inn on the north end of town (on the frontage road on the west side of the interstate). I am supposed to be on the bottom floor, last room on the left at the west end of the hallway. We have had problems with some government agency in the area wanting all of the ground floor rooms at the same time for themselves and occasionally some of us dealers get routed to other floors. I’ll try to hang a couple signs in the lobby and such if this ends up happening to me. I should be set up and open by mid day Friday the 9th. I will be gone from around 5pm to around 6pm or so that evening for a “Friends of the Museum” event at the mineral museum about a mile away. I’ll likely be open until around 11pm or midnight after getting back. On Saturday, I should be open around 5pm until 11pm or so again. If you do want to visit the show and need to see me some other time you can try calling ( cell (970) 417-8783 – this ONLY works while I am traveling at shows so DON’T put this number in any files as a regular contact number) and I’ll see if we can schedule something that will work for you.

ALLENDE, Mexico: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3). Fell February 8, 1969.
I got this piece as part of a collection and kind of misplaced it for a bit (this would have certainly sold in Denver had I brought it). This was a later recovery specimen as it had some dirt adhering to it. I soda-blasted it and most of this has now been removed. This piece now looks quite nice. Lots of nice black crust – much fuller coverage, less and smaller chipping than most Allende specimens.

    36.3 grams complete individual – 40mm x 25mm x 20mm - $400

BRENHAM, Kansas: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found 1881.
Here is a bag of specimens that I got with Linton Rohr’s collection. It contains crystals, fragments and slices. This stuff is rusty but still shows lots of metal on most pieces. I think Linton had planned on cleaning these up, coating them and then selling them. I kind of thought of that myself (I don’t think it would take too much effort to make the bulk of this material look nice for resale), but just haven’t had the time. Most of the slices are in the 2 to 3cm size range, so they’d make nice specimens when fixed up.

    82.2 grams crystals, fragments, slices in bag - $40

CAMEL DONGA, Australia. HED achondrite (eucrite). Found 1984.
Not sure where I got this piece, just found it hiding with my “new” stuff for offerings material recently. I remember when this meteorite first came out. The pieces were all pitch black covered in super shiny crust. It is not known when this fell, but it could not have been too long before its discovery. This eucrite is strange in that it has a fairly high content of fresh iron (some iron nodules being large enough to, sometimes, make it difficult to split some of these in half). This iron also seems to have made pieces of this meteorite weather fairly rapidly out in nature. Pieces that came out only a few years later had already lost much of the glassy luster of the crust and had substantial amounts of adhering dirt and rust. I can tell that this piece is not one of the earliest pieces recovered but it likely not recovered terribly long after. This does have some (very minor) adhering dirt (mostly down in the contraction cracks In the fusion crust) and there are a few small areas that have lost a bit of the original luster but, overall, it is quite fresh compared to most pieces I have seen available of this meteorite in recent years.

    13.5 gram complete individual – 32mm x 22mm x 10mm - $250

CHINGA, Russia: Iron. Ni-rich ataxite, ungrouped. Found 1913.
This is a piece I sold to a collector out east many years ago. When I go it back I kind of had to say “wow”! This thing looks really, really nice for this meteorite. It has the flattish disk/ lensoidal shape typical for pieces of this meteorite but this has a wonderful solid patina to it. This does not show any of the scaling, flaking that is typical for pieces of this meteorite. This has a really nice chocolate brown, hard somewhat shiny patina covering its surface. No evidence of rust scaling at all. I also know that this has not been cleaned recently to hide any earlier scaling as it still has my original name and weight sticker on it. So, this one is a nice, apparently very stable piece of a rare type meteorite.

    881.9 gram complete, solid individual – 115mm x 70mm x 30mm - $450

MONTURAQUI, Chile, Impact Glass.
Here are a few more pieces of the Monturaqui impact glass that I offered (and quickly sold out of) on a list around a year or so ago. I managed to trade a few more pieces out of the guy that recovered this himself on a trip to the crater back in September of 2014. This is NOT the usual, commonly available “impactities” from this crater (I have some of those for $1/g if anybody wants some). This is actually a light pinkish gray glass that was likely formed from the melting of rhyolite lavas in the area of the crater during impact. It does have some vesicles and rock fragments but far, far less than the black glass cemented fragments of the impactites. I was told that only a few tens of grams of this material was found after intensive searching, so it is likely quite rare. Note: The last piece (on the right) in the group photo of this offering is NOT the 9.5g piece (this one measures 35mm x 25mm x 10mm) but a 2.0 gram piece that was originally supposed to be offered. The 9.5 gram piece now on the list was on hold for a customer who called a few minutes ago (well after the photo had been taken and uploaded) to pass on it (too much $ for them at the moment they decided) and took the 2.0g (the next largest piece I had) instead.

    Fragments as found - $15/g. Sizes available: .73g, .90g, 1.0g, 1.7g, 9.5g

NUEVO MERCURIO, Mexico: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Fell December 15, 1978. Tkw = 200kg.
Here is a specimen that I thought was really two separate partly crusted stones. Well, they are indeed that BUT they also fit together to form one larger stone. Even put together, this still looks like a partly crusted stone as there is one large face that looks to be a fresh break (in addition to chipping of the crust on the back side – quite common on pieces of this meteorite for some reason – probably a tight fall group resulting in lots of collisions between falling pieces or smashing into and rolling around on a hard, rocky surface maybe). However, close inspection of this large fracture surface reveals the presence of very light secondary crust (only a few tiny dots of black crust perched on high points on some areas) so this is actually a very late atmospheric break (however, the break that made this into two pieces is clearly a ground impact break). This comes with an Aerolite (Geoff Notkin) label that notes that this specimen was from the King collection.

    127.6 gram broken individual – 65mm x 25mm x 25mm - $1250

TATAHOUINE, Tunisia: HED achondrite (Diogenite). Fell June 27, 1931. Tkw = 13.5kg +
I have always considered this to be one of the weirdest looking meteorites. It is composed of large, blocky green crystals that have dark shock bands going through it. Years ago, I think this was the ONLY known unbrecciated diogenite. I am not sure if this is still the case, but I would not be surprised if it is as I certainly have not seen anything new similar come out. Anyway, most of this material was in the form of small gravel-sized pieces from sub-gram to a few grams in size maybe (I have a pretty good stash of those things myself). However, I recall when some “large” pieces of this came out and all the excitement that brought about. Usually, meteorites (unlike gold nuggets) get cheaper per gram as their size goes up. Nope, not this time. These large pieces were commanding huge premiums – I think around $100/g (when the small pieces were lucky to bring $15 or $20/g) was pretty common. Well, the person I got this piece from did indeed pay around $100/g for it. He got it from Robert Haag. No invoice or card came with it but it does have the original bag it came in with Robert’s very recognizable (to me anyway) hand writing saying “Tatahouine Diogenite 12g” on it (I have added the correct weight of 11.9g). Neat piece, neat meteorite and quite rare in this size.
    11.9 gram large fragment as found – 25mm x 19mm x 10mm - $500

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 209

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 209

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

LIST 209
October 31, 2017

Dear collectors,
Happy Halloween!
This will be my only offering until sometime in December (and that one will be a “want to clear it out of inventory” type offering – assuming I come up with such items when I do finally get around to the hideous/ tedious task of doing inventory this year).

SOCORRO, New Mexico Mineral symposium: I will be gone November 8th until November 14th or 15th (weather depending – I have gotten to old or to lazy to try and drive over 11,000 foot high mountains in snow storms these days). I do set up at a show of sorts (Nov 10th and 11th) so contact me if you might want to visit so I can give you the particulars.

COSTA RICA: Yep, I am finally going on a trip that is truly a vacation and not (meteorite anyway) business related. I think my last such vacation was the last time I went to Costa Rica over 9 years ago. I’ll be gone from November 21st or 22nd until December 6th (again, weather dependant). On this trip, I will be completely out of range by phone or e-mail. So please try to contact me about things a few days before I leave or have lots of patience to wait until I get back and have a chance to catch up.

So, here is a list of pretty much all the “new” things that I have turned up since my last basic e-mail offering (which was way back in July). I do have a group photo of these posted in the group photo archives (titled “List 209”) but I can e-mail it to you as well. One specimen, the Ladder Creek, isn’t in it as I just discovered that piece an hour or so ago and added it at the last minute so didn’t have time to have a new photo made up.

BRENHAM, Kansas: Stony-iron (pallasite). Found 1882.
I put this one in the wrong spot in the photo. It should have been first, but I placed it after the Grossnaja. I think this is because
this is where I had it on my handwritten-notes I made as the precursor to typing this actual offering. Anyway, this is a plastic vial labeled “Brenham Olivine”. The contents do contain some olivine crystals and fragments (I didn’t photo those outside of the vial for the same wind problem mentioned in the Grossnaja listing) but the bulk of the lot is a rather nice small part slice (3.7g – 15mm x 10mm x 6mm) that has a good mix of olivine and metal. It has a few (really) small rust spots but is surprisingly nice considering that it has likely been sitting the way it is for many decades (this came with a collection of stuff I got some years ago from a retired researcher).
4.9 grams part slice and olivine crystals - $15

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa: Stony-iron (Mesosiderite). Fell May 10, 1879. Tkw = 318+ kilograms.
This is a nice complete slice of a small fragment. It has a good mix of metal and silicates (perhaps a bit heavier, volume wise, on the metal). I don’t get pieces of this stuff real often but am still surprised at how affordable this historic fall (of a stony-iron meteorite no less) is when available. I am sure this situation won’t last for all that much longer (but I am not going to put this aside and wait for that day to come).
7.9 gram complete slice – 35mm x 12mm x 5mm - $80 SOLD

GROSSNAJA, Russia: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3.3) ox. Fell June 28, 1861.
This is probably the rarest item I have on this offering (or on several offerings for that matter). I got this “specimen” as part of the old research collection I picked up a couple years ago. This consists of .13 grams of fragments and dust in a small research vial labeled “GROSSNAJA, Me1732”. Well, it is really two “large” fragments that are roughly equal in size (I have these outside of the vial in the group photo) that total over .11g of the weight and then some tiny fragments and crumbs for the remainder (didn’t put those out for the photo – wind would have taken them away). I set this aside trying to decide what to do with it. I don’t recall ever having or seeing pieces (even crumbs) of this meteorite before so I considered making this three lots (2 using each of the larger fragments and one containing the .01 or .02g of dust) and auctioning it (as I am sure there are lots of collectors that don’t have this one in their collections). This might have been the better move but I have decided to simply move this out of inventory and let the next person do the auction thing, if they desire.
.13 grams fragments in research vial - $100 SOLD

JAIPUR, India: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM2). Fell June 6, 2017. Tkw = 3.2 kilograms.
Here are a couple small fragments of a really rare meteorite (in type, total recovered and far rarer in what has been available to collectors) that were left with me this past Denver show (I sold a couple other pieces at the show). These are in a fairly large plastic display box (2 ¼” x 3 ¼”). There is a label containing the basic info (name, type, date, weight) below the specimen on the front side and a more complete Mike Farmer label in the box on the back. These boxes are sealed quite well and I did not attempt to open them so the measurements (mostly the thickness) must be considered a good guess. Anyway, these are great (quasi) affordable specimens of a rare fall to add to your collection.
a) .131 gram fragment – 7mm x 5mm x 2mm - $160
b) .328 gram fragment – 8mm x 6mm x 4mm - $380

LADDER CREEK, Kansas: Ordinary chondrite (L6). Found July 1937. Tkw = 35.1 kilograms.
As already mentioned above, this one didn’t make it in to the group photo as I just “discovered” it less than an hour ago. Anyway, I suspect that this is another specimen from the “retired researcher” collection I got a few years ago. This has the right kind of plastic bottle (a really old pill bottle actually in this case) that has an old yellowed label (that says “Ladder Creek”) that is very similar to many other pieces that were in that collection. Anyway, not sure why this one missed my attention until now. I do have small soft spot for Ladder Creek so I may have placed it aside for this reason. Linda actually paid for the very first collection I ever bought (got it from Robert Haag). Those specimens, except a nice Ladder Creek slice that Linda kept (and still has as far as I am aware) composed my very first ever “what is new” list (this had to be sometime in late 1986 or early 1987). Anyway, this is just a small part slice. It does have a small patch of dark gray fusion crust (6mm x 5mm) on one end. The interior is somewhat weathered but still shows quite a lot of really small metal grains in a mottled tan, orange and brown matrix.
2.3 gram part slice – 18mm x 9mm x 5mm - $15

NWA (8545): Ungrouped achondrite. Purchased 2013. Tkw = 57.8 grams.
An interesting rarity and not a lot of this one out there. I can’t remember exactly how I got these pieces (probably a trade deal of some sort) but I had them sitting around for a few years now and kind of overlooked them (aside from dusting off the bag they were in from time to time). I am finally offering them here (won’t have to dust them anymore – but the shelf they were sitting on will still need it). These are all basically fragments but each piece looks like it might have a small cut or sanded face. I didn’t want to risk crumbling by taking these things out of the display boxes I got them in. As such, the thickness measurements listed below are just a close guess. They are granular and have a mix of (mostly) tan and brown crystals with some spots of green and black. The research data indicates that this is weird stuff; composed of roughly 70% pyroxene and 30% plagioclase. It also has a super high faylite (? – this is a reading of the iron content in olivine. The research results don’t mention olivine but it must be in there in at least trace amounts) of 84.2! Most meteorites have faylite of around 17 (H chondrites) up to around 35 or so (R chondrites). Further notes in the research report say that this is likely paired to the strange (rare and expensive when it was available) NWA (011). I have only these 4 pieces and they will come in the gem-stone box that I got them in (as photographed).
a) .13 grams – 6mm x 5mm x 2mm - $15
b) .23 grams – 9mm x 4mm x 3mm - $25
c) .32 grams – 9mm x 5mm x 4mm - $35
d) .53 grams – 10mm x 6mm x 5mm - $55

PENA BLANCA SPRING, Texas: Enstatite achondrite (Aubrite). Fell August 2, 1946. Tkw = 70.4 kg.
These are all slices/ part slices from the Jim Schwade collection and all come with one of his collection labels. I did have to hand alter the label for the smallest specimen, as it had “found 1984” for the fall/ find info. This was an obvious error, hold over from his preparing labels for the Gan Gan (which was found in 1984) specimens that I offered on my list mailed and e-mailed list. The other cards are all correct from the start. The large piece is a wonderful ¼ slice (two cut edges) that has patches of cream colored fusion crust along much of its natural edge (which, thankfully, is the longest edge). The 4.9 gram piece also has a bit of crust but it is only a tiny patch around 3mm or so across. All have the wonderful breccia texture this meteorite shows so well.
a) 1.8 grams – 15mm x 12mm x 4mm - $145
b) 4.9 grams – 32mm x 10mm x 6mm $390
c) 5.1 grams – 35mm x 15mm x 4mm - $400
d) 103.0 grams – 148mm x 80mm x 3mm - $7000

SERRA PELDA, Brazil: HED achondrite (Eucrite). Fell June 6, 2017. Tkw = about 10 kilograms.
Hmmm. It seems June was a good month for falls this year. I have two things that fell that month on this list. Like the Jaipur above, I only have two pieces of this. Also, like the Jaipur above, these are in the larger plastic display boxes that have a basic label under the specimen on the front side and a more detailed Farmer label in the box on the back side. Also like the Jaipur, these boxes are sealed, so the listed thickness measurements are guesses. The (only slightly) smaller piece has a nice small (8mm x 3mm) patch of shiny black fusion crust. The other slightly larger piece does not seem to have any crust (again the boxes are sealed. I am assuming that if this had crust, that part would have been put acing up).
a) .648 gram fragment – 12mm x 6mm x 5mm - $80
b) .670 gram fragment – 11mm x 9mm x 4mm - $80

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale - List 187 - Estherville, St. Severin and more

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale - List 187 - Estherville, St. Severin and more

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

…………………………………………………………LIST 187

March 15, 2016

BRENHAM, Kansas: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found October 30, 2005.
I must have sold a lot of pieces like this one years ago. It seems that every time I sell one that has come back to me, another appears. Like the others, this was cut from a 69 kilogram all iron specimen that Steve Arnold found on the date listed above. This has one natural edge that is about 50mm long with the remaining edges being saw cut. This is etched on both sides and shows a nice but not super vibrant etch pattern. There are a couple tiny thin brown oxidation lines along a fine crack near the edge (even Gibeon gets those) but they are so fine that I’d risk doing more damage to the piece by trying to mess with them. A good piece that is obviously quite stable, given the environment it was previously stored in.
74.0 gram etched part slice – 50mm x 50mm x 3mm - $120

CAMPO DEL CIELO, Argentina: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1576.
Here is actually a really nice etched (on both sides) “complete slice”. This does not show a speck of oxidation anywhere! Looking at the edge, I personally think that this was cut from a really large “nugget” – one of those pieces that results from a larger meteorite being broken up after being frozen in liquid nitrogen (gads, I wish I had patented THAT idea when I came up with it to help out a guy that rapidly needed 5000 plus small iron meteorites for a project he contracted for without first checking to see if 5000 of ANY small irons existed at the time – which they didn’t). I have never had a problem with any of those things rusting for some reason, and that seems to be the case with this specimen as well. The etch on this is about as good as these things get – not real clear thanks to the scale of the etch structure but still enough to give the proper idea. This is a perfect piece for a hand or display specimen for someone that needs a truly coarse etch coarse octahedrite.
141.0 gram complete etched slice – 70mm x 50mm x 5mm - $70

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa: Stony-iron (Mesosiderite). Fell May 10, 1879. Tkw = 317 kilograms.
This is actually a “trade in”. I had a 15g piece that I picked up in Tucson but a customer just happened to call shortly after I got home asking if I had a piece of this meteorite. He asked if I would accept a trade in and I said “sure”. This is pretty much a square cut piece that has no natural edges. One edge has a shallow semi-circle indent that is actually from where a core sample for research was removed from the original large specimen. Regardless, this is an aesthetic piece. It has a nice mix of metal and silicates (close to 50/50). This is a thin cut piece that has a good surface area and even passes light (dark emerald green) through several of the silicate crystals.
5.6 gram part slice – 30mm x 26mm x 1mm - $115

NWA (6619): Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3). Found January 2011. Tkw = 3367 grams.
This is an almost complete slice. It has a natural edge around the entire edge except a 50mm straight cut along the bottom. This specimen shows a half dozen or so fairly large chondrules (3mm to 5mm size) and a lot of small chondrules and CAIs in a fairly dark matrix. The official Meteoritical Bulletin description says this has a light gray matrix. I think the issue here is that this particular piece has been quite highly polished (and, as I mentioned on an item on one of the recent lists, this usually darkens a meteorite’s tone substantially). I know that this is “the right stuff” as it does match online pictures of other pieces and comes in a sealed (well, taped shut anyway) display box with the Certificate of Authenticity from Mirko Graul, the person that brought this stone to research. As this is taped, my thickness measurement below is only a good guess.
33.2 gram almost complete slice – 60mm x 47mm x 3mm - $230

NWA (8563) (?): HED achondrite (Eucrite, monomict). Found August 2014. Tkw = 9125 grams.
I put a (?) on the “name” of this one as some quick research indicates that this particular piece is likely NOT from the mass that Mike Farmer bought and had researched under this number. The hand written note that came with this specimen may indicate that it came from the guy he may have gotten his piece from. Even if this is the case, this should have been sold to my friend as “may be paired with” NWA (8563). Regardless, this piece certainly looks like it could be paired based on the description in the Meteoritical Bulletin. This is a complete stone (well, more likely a natural weathered / wind-polished fragment anyway) but it clearly shows that its internal structure is composed of fairly large (cm or two sized) fine-grained eucrite areas separated by black shock veins. Frankly, if this piece were mine (it is a consigned specimen) I’d cut it up as I think this thing would look (and likely sell) great in slices.
367.6 gram natural fragment/ individual – 80mm x 70mm x 40mm - $2000

SAINT SEVERIN, France: Ordinary chondrite (LL6). Fell June 27, 1966. Tkw = 271 kilograms.
I got these two pieces as extras along with a larger specimen that I needed for a lab that wants to do some research on this meteorite. Its been quite a few years since I have had a piece of this material and saw what looked to be some pretty silly high prices when I went about looking for the needed research piece. I managed to find someone that was willing to be reasonable so I got some extras for myself. These are two thin part slices that each has a natural edge (one of the shorter sides on the smaller piece and about 50% of the larger piece) but I wouldn’t call it “crust” (though some super fine secondary crust might be present). Neither of these is much to look at honestly. They have a fairly uniform medium gray color and only some hints of breccia texture (though the smaller piece does have a nice obvious lighter 7mm x 5mm clast in its center). Not beautiful, but rare stuff to come by these days (and these are from an ex Robert Haag specimen so I know they are real)..
a) 4.12 gram part slice – 37mm x 18mm x 2mm - $165
b) 5.23 gram part slice – 40mm x 20mm x 2mm - $210

TAMDAKHT, Morocco: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Fell December 20, 2008. Tkw = about 100 kilograms.
This is the witnessed fall where most of the pieces got broken up hitting rocks high in the Atlas Mountains. This 1/2 end piece (book-end cut) is no exception. Though this has fusion crust covering most of the back -side, most of the edges show fresh breaks. This has a few tiny hints of adhering dirt but no rust so this was an early recovered piece. The large cut face is very light gray (with a 14mm x 8mm lighter yet clast in the center) and shows lots of bright fresh metal. This specimen is in a neat plastic and glass display box that has a built in prop for sitting at an easy viewing angle.
12.8 gram ½ end piece – 36mm x 20mm x 9mm - $50

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale - List 185 - after Tucson 1

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale - List 185 - after Tucson 1

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

…………………………………………………………LIST 185
February 23, 2016

Dear collectors,
Here is the first of my “after Tucson” offerings. Some of this material are things I picked up through various deals but a fair amount of it is the usual “want to sell it before I have to return it” consignment items.

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1882.
This is a nice almost square little part slice that has one natural edge and shows a good range of color in the olivine crystals. It has been polished and etched on both sides. Nothing exceptional but a good little quite stable (it has been sitting in Ohio for some years and is not falling apart!) collection piece.
30.7 grams part slice – 39mm x 38mm x 4mm - $90

GIBEON, Namibia: Fine octahedrite (IVA). Found 1836.
I sure wish I had a lot of large pieces of this at the show this year. Gibeon seemed to be pretty much the only thing that the few Chinese buyers that did show up wanted/ asked for (last year they would have taken pretty much ANY larger iron if it was cleaned and priced right). This is a piece that I obviously sold to the person yeas ago (or he got it from someone I sold it to) as it has my name and weight sticker on it. This piece is roughly rectangular and has the usual all cut edges (I often had some rusting problems with pieces that showed some natural edge). This piece has remained perfectly rust free and has a good bright etch for Gibeon showing on both sides.
40.6 gram etched part slice – 42mm x 33mm x 3mm - $80

JBILET WINSELWAN: Morocco: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM2). Found May 24, 2013. Tkw = about 6kg.
I am not sure of the total known on this material now but I suspect that it is not all that much greater than the originally reported 6kg or so. This was another meteorite (like Tirhert below) that showed up and quickly disappeared from availability. Anyway, pretty much all of that earlier available material was fragments (which I will be offering some of on a future list, thanks to a deal I got before the show) or individuals. I have seen very few pieces that have been cut to show the classic CM2 interior. This is probably because it is hard to cut this kind of material and not have much of it crumble to some extent. This is a complete slice of a fragment that looks to have crust (though somewhat wind polished) around 50% of the edge.
1.47 gram slice – 16mm x 15mm x 3mm - $50

NWA (7655): Carbonaceous chondrite (CR2). Found before August 2012. Tkw = 250 grams.
Here is a complete slice most likely out of the center of the single stone recovered. In fact, the label on the side of the plastic display box this is in says it is the main mass. This particular meteorite has a bit of a different look to it than what I usually think of for a CR2. This has far fewer armored chondrules than what I usually think of for a CR2. However, this has quite a few metal chondrules and a few strange chondrules and inclusions that have fine metal flakes inside them. Not as visually striking as the usual stuff but then this makes it certain that this is NOT just another NWA (801) pairing (and priced a bit cheaper per gram than I got out of pieces of that material).
15.92 slice – 42mm x 40mm x 3mm - $350 – “main mass”

NWA (8056): HED achondrite (Eucrite), polymict, gabbroic. Found 2013. Tkw = 1560 grams.
Two similar stones were recovered, one weighing 960 grams and the other 600 grams. Research work on pieces of both specimens showed that they were indeed the same material. This meteorite is a fragmental breccia composed mostly of gabbroic eucrite clasts (so, even though it looks very similar visually to my recent NWA (8386) HED this is completely different). This is a nice complete slice that is in a really neat little display box. It is a black plastic frame with a black velvet back ground (looks great for this specimen). What is even better is that this display box has a flip out stand that allows the specimen to sit at an angle for easier viewing.
3.57 gram complete slice – 45mm x 28mm x 1mm - $50

SAHARA (97091): Enstatite chondrite (EH3). Found 1997. Tkw (for this stone anyway) = 6140 grams.
I picked up this specimen with the intentions of breaking it up. I have found it quite difficult to be able to acquire and offer ANYTHING that is a fresh enstatite chondrite for less than around $50/g. This piece being super thin would have allowed me to offer light weight but large surface area slices for affordable amounts of a meteorite that I have seen labeled as one of THE most primitive known. Thankfully I did a little research before carrying on with that plan. It turns out that this slice was cut from the center of the largest EH3 meteorite known. The next closest EH3s in size are a couple down at 2.5kg. Interestingly, there are only 3 EH (anything) existing that are larger than the Sahara 97091 stone that could produce a large EH slice. So, I came close to busting up likely the largest EH3 slice known! Interestingly, this slice has a shape that clearly looks like the profile of a woman. Most people that saw it call it “Queen Nefertiti”. An amazing piece that I will not break up intentionally.
140.4 gram complete slice – 250mm x 140mm x 1mm - $3500

TIRHERT, Morocco: (Eucrite), unbrecciated. Fell July 9, 2014. Tkw = around 8 kilograms.
I remember seeing a few pieces of this available not long after the fall (Denver 2014 fall show maybe). Those pieces were mostly complete individuals that had the most amazingly bright shiny crust I have ever seen on any meteorite. They were fantastic specimens but has a pretty fantastic (ly high) price to go with them – something close to $150/gram I think. I thought at the time that this material would become ever more available and ever cheaper (remember Chelyabinsk? It started at around $300/g right after the fall and dropped to around $25/g by the time I acquired some a few months later). Well, this neat new meteorite was one of the ones that never became really available or really cheap. I honestly don’t recall seeing much, if any, of this fall available after that Denver show and, perhaps, the next Tucson. This piece is a part slice cut from one of the larger pieces recovered. It has the fantastic shiny crust around 50% of the edge. The interior shows a great mix of white plagioclase and greenish brown pyroxene crystals.
8.48 gram part slice – 43mm x 25mm x 3mm - $850

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 183 - Pena Blanca and more

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 183 - Pena Blanca and more

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

…………………………………………………..LIST 183
December 29, 2015

Dear collectors,
Here is a short offering for the end of the year.

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found October 30, 2005.
I know, the real reported find date for this meteorite is 1882 but this particular piece is an etched slice that was cut from a 69kg all iron individual that was found on the date listed above. The info card with it (which is one I made – this piece was sold be me at some point in the past and now came back as part of a small collection lot) says that this was found on the Allen and Mary Binford farm and gives the precise GPS coordinates for the find spot (so, one could probably visit the hole that this was pulled out of if one was so inclined). This is a typical part slice that is roughly square in shape. It has three cut edges and one natural edge.
74.1 gram etched part slice – 50mm x 50mm x 4mm - $130

PENA BLANCA SPRING, Texas: Enstatite achondrite (Aubrite). Fell August 2, 1946. Tkw = 70.4kg.
This is the famous meteorite that managed to land directly in a small natural pond. The fall was witnessed to some degree by a couple dozen people. A cook at a near by ranch house saw the stone break branches of a tree it passed through and then its impact into the pond. A couple ranch hands driving by the pond in a truck heard a load explosion and then had their truck splashed with water and plant debris. Later work to lower the level of the water in the pond allowed the recovery of several large fragments of this interesting and rare meteorite. These pieces are nice small to medium part slices that all show at least some of the fantastic breccia texture displayed by this meteorite (I personally like the 5.3g piece best myself as it shows a neat slightly darker 20mm x 12mm clast), but they are all nice. I have always loved the look (and rarity) of this stuff. It has been quite a long while since I have had pieces of this beautiful material.
1) Part slices:
a) .79 grams – 14mm x 8mm x 4mm - $65
b) 1.25 grams – 17mm x 8mm x 4mm - $100
c) 2.47 grams – 21mm x 19mm x 3mm - $190
d) 5.30 grams – 26mm x 26mm x 3mm - $400
e) 15.36 grams – 50mm x 33mm x 3.5mm - $1100

SACRAMENTO WASH (005), Arizona. Iron (ungrouped, troilite rich). Found 2004.
I have heard of and seen some pieces of this over the years but I have never had any pieces to sell. This is reported in the bulletin as a separate meteorite but I don’t know if it has ever been fully sorted out if these are really just chunks of iron that separated out from pieces of the Frankonia stone meteorite. This metal is chemically H-type metal (which is the type meteorite Frankonia is which did indeed have some fairly large metal pieces in it). However, attached h-type silicates have not been found attached to these iron pieces and some clearly showed fusion crust (and most pieces have an atmospherically sculpted shape). Regardless, this material is reported as a new/ separate meteorite and very little/ few pieces have been available.
a) .41 gram individual – 15mm x 7mm x 1mm - $20
b) 1.07 gram individual – 9mm x 8mm x 5mm - $40 – this one is in a membrane box and comes with a L. Atkins collection label.

SPRINGWATER, Canada: (Pallasite). Found 1931.
Here is a fantastic, beautiful thin complete slice. This is cut thin enough that many of the crystals pass light (not so easy to get in this meteorite due to its generally smaller olivine crystal size). This piece has NOT been through the “special rust treatment” I mentioned on the small pieces listed earlier. This is partly because to do so would risk having the thing break apart in the process but mostly because this piece has shown itself over the past 3.5 years or so to be stable on its own already. It was stored/ displayed with out any special care in a fairly humid environment (West Virginia) and has held up beautifully. Another really neat feature of this large slice is that its Ferringtonite inclusions, a VERY rare magnesium Phosphate mineral that seems to be only known from meteorites. One is bright, obvious and is about 10mm x 30mm. There are several others that are darker near the edges of the slice. A few other pallasites are noted for having some of this mineral discovered in them but Springwater has by far the best and is the “type locality” for the stuff. I know a few mineral collectors who would probably like me to break this thing apart so they can add a piece of this odd mineral to their collections. I have pictures of this piece in the computer ready to send to those interested.
a) 306.4 gram complete slice – 280mm x 150mm x 2mm - $5500 – has several Ferrigtonite inclusions.

TOLUCA, Mexico: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1776.
This is a bag of fragments of both oxide and metal (more metal than oxide I think). Some of the larger pieces (thumb-nail sized plus) are metal and have a polished and etched face.
14.5 grams of metal and oxide fragments - $7

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale- List 180 a couple Lunar slices etc.

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale- List 180 a couple Lunar slices etc.

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………..LIST 180
October 27, 2015

Dear collectors,

Here is a small offering that is going out either a week late, or a week early. Normally, I’d send out the month’s second offering on the third Tuesday, which would have been last week. However, I sent out an e-mail version of my mailed list the week before. I thought about waiting for next week to send this out but then realized that I will probably be buried under preparations for Socorro (it is a moderately large display I set up – probably 2/3 of Denver or Tucson) and projects I need to get done before the weather really starts getting ugly (another solar electric array, redoing some piping on the hot water system and more – parts for these jobs are on order now).

Speaking of my mailed list. I’d like to know if there are folks out there that normally get my mailed list (paper in an envelope) that didn’t receive one this time. I have had a few people contact me asking why they didn’t get their paper copy. I am curios to see if there is a problem with these things coming up “lost” in the mail or not. Years ago I had one entire mailing disappear. It was right after 9/11 and I finished stuffing envelopes and sealing the things while on the road and mailed them at a “foreign” post office (one that wasn’t in the return address). That entire mailing simply went into the trash as far as I can tell (no one got a copy and I had to re-do the whole thing once I was back home).

Also considering the mailed list: Once again, I had a number of people contact me and ask me to remove them from the mailing list. Not because they were bothered by receiving it but because they want me to save the stamp. I do appreciate that but I don’t mind using a stamp. As dumb as this might sound, my theory is that a paper list has the chance to sell something until the person who received it crumples it up and throws it away. An e-mail offering gets buried under new stuff in the in box in a matter of minutes to hours, so its effective sales time is measured, at best, in hours to a day maybe. I have had people rediscover a paper list and buy something from it months later (and, surprisingly, this often happens with someone who told me to save the stamps at some point earlier). So, If you truly ONLY want the e-mail version I will remove your address from the mailing files. However, do be aware that I really don’t mind using the stamp and personally think that there are some advantages to it.

AGOUDAL, Morocco: Coarsest octahedrite (IIAB). Found 2012.
Here is a really neat little end piece that came from a collector/ dealer in Germany. It is in a nice plastic display box with information. This also has desiccant but this still oxidized on the polished surface (and, consequently stained the white foam backing a bit) as the piece seems to never have been coated. I have fixed that part. I if a gentle sanding (so as not to completely destroy the etch) and then coated it. Regardless, this is a really cool piece in that it has a large surface are for its weight and a nice 7mm diameter natural hole through it!
13.7 gram end piece – 28mm x 22mm x 7mm - $25

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1882.
This is “micro mount” end piece that would easily fit in a small magnifier box like I used to use for some of my specimens in a capsule or such. It has a couple olivine crystals – one 10mm x 6mm.
3.0 gram end piece – 17mm x 11mm x 8mm - $10

CASTALIA, North Carolina: (H5) brecciated, xenolithic. Fell May 14, 1874. Tkw = 7.3 kilograms.
I can’t remember if I had any pieces of this one in the past. If I did, they would have likely been just small fragments in a capsule. This is not huge, but it is big enough to show chondrules, metal and even has a nice edge of fusion crust. This is a meteorite that seems to be mostly accounted for in museum collections. Of the 7.3 kilograms known it seems that over 6 kilograms are tied up in collections.
.51 gram part slice with crust along longest edge – 9mm x 6mm x 5mm - $100

KORRA KORRABES, Namibia. (H3). Found November 1996, recognized August 2000. Tkw = 140+kg.
This meteorite was originally found by a farmer who was using a metal-detector to find Gibeon irons in a dry river bed. He discovered a 27kg piece (along with some smaller fragments) and used it in a cemented rock wall. Thakfully, Ronnie McKenzie recognized it as a meteorite and it was removed. Further searching of the original find area has turned up additional pieces buried in the river bottom. These pieces are from an ugly fragment that I got in at the show as apart of a small (5 pieces) collection. I cut it open after I got home as this stuff looks far better on the inside than the outside. All of the resulting pieces (yep, it broke a bit) are “end pieces”/ cut fragments. The cut faces shoe a good number of chondrules (as a type 3 should). The three largest pieces also show some breccia fragments as well. I think that this material is, by far, the cheapest H3 available at the moment.
1) Cut fragments:
a) 1.2 grams – 17mm x 7mm x 6mm - $3
b) 2.3 grams – 23mm x 13mm x 6mm - $5
c) 10.2 grams – 20mm x 13mm x 18mm - $15
d) 56.5 grams – 45mm x27mm x 20mm - $70
e) 64.1 grams – 47mm x 27mm x 20mm - $80

NWA 482: Lunar impact melt breccia. Found 2000. Tkw = 1015 grams.
This, along with the beautiful NWA (2995) slice listed below, came to me in Tucson through a route other than the original seller. In this case though, this piece (and I do have a couple small pieces around .1g size) is available for a deal much cheaper than this material is usually available for. I am not going to openly list the price here as the main owners of the remaining pieces of this are friends of mine and I really DON’T want people going back to them and demanding that they match this special offering price (which I am sure will happen endlessly if I do openly publish the price here). Also, please “request price” only if you are fairly seriously interested in the piece. Not openly listing the price but then passing it out to hundreds of people who are just curious would likely put me in the same hot water as openly listing it in the first place. Anyway this is a fairly large piece so the dollar price is still quite large but the per gram price is quite low (compared to listed web-site prices anyway). This slice is light gray and has a number of thin black shock veins. This is a part slice, though it has no cut edges (and the broken edge looks quite natural actually), There is nice fusion crust around ½ or so of the edge of this slice as well.
2.52 grams – 45mm x 18mm x 2mm – Price On Request

NWA 2995: Lunar feldspathic breccia. Found 2005. Tkw = 538 grams.
Like the above piece, this is also a got it second hand specimen and priced (per gram) well below what this stuff usually sells for (I have sold quite a lot of this at around $2000 to $2500/g over the years). This is one that probably shows the best classic Moon rock texture (angular white and light gray clasts in a dark gray matrix) and generally sells itself over cheaper alternatives just from its looks. Like the NWA (482) piece I am not going to openly list the price here for the same reasons. This is a beautiful display piece that I’d want to keep if I hadn’t already managed to pick up a larger piece (through trading off MY NWA (482) slice) some years ago. I can’t be certain, but this looks to be a complete slice or one that was broken in such a way that it retains a complete look to it.
3.08 gram slice – 42mm x 30mm x 1mm – Price On Request

ODESSA, Texas: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1922.
This is a nice solid individual that has had one end cut off and the face etched. The exterior surface has been left completely natural and is among the best I have seen. It has a pleasing brown color, some nice texture but no scaling/ flaking. A very old sticker attached has “2 ¾ oz – OM, Odessa Meteorite, 1 ¼ mi”. The last but refers to another label (handwritten) that comments that this piece was found “1 ¼ mile north and 15 (?) west of crater”.
74.2 gram individual with cut and etched face – 40mm x 28mm x 18mm - $90

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 171 April 2015

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 171 April 2015

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………….LIST 171

April 2, 2015

Dear Collectors,

Here is yet another offering in my “after Tucson” series. I know, this is going out a bit early. It should have been saved for next Tuesday but I will be busy then.

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1885.
Here is a rusty little slice that came from a collection I picked up over a year ago (and tried to sell intact at a few shows). It is one that I sold the previous owner probably 20 plus years ago. It is sealed in a “seal a meal” pouch as Glenn Huss had taught me back then (this piece likely came from him before I sold it). Still shows some metal and crystals, but not much of a display piece.
17.7 gram part slice – 25mm x 26mm x 7mm - $20

CANYON DIABLO, Arizona: Graphite nodule.
Here is a specimen I picked up in Tucson. It is a complete piece that has been nicely cleaned to show the metallic gray of the graphite but yet leaves some rusty brown coloration in the deeper areas. A quite pleasing specimen.
275.5 gram individual – 65mm x 60mm x 45mm - $400

GEBEL KAMIL, Egypt: Ni-rich ataxite. Found 2008. Tkw = about 1600 kilograms.
I got this piece along with a small collection of other irons during the Tucson show (the others sold at the show – I forgot about this one until too late). It is a nice natural flatish oriented looking piece (conical with some radiating striations that is. Shrapnel can’t really be oriented).
131.0 gram natural individual – 65mm x 38mm x 15mm - $100

INDOCHINITE: Muong Nong type.
This is a specimen that the previous owner picked up from Bethany Sciences. This is a piece of the layered tektite material that is believed to have formed by surface melt glass pooling in lower areas (near the source crater, which we still have no idea exactly where it is). This small (for this material anyway) piece shows some really nice flow structure/ features (particularly nice on one side). The Bethany Sciences “Certificate of Authenticity” with this has the location as Ubonratch-Thani, Thailand.
38.0 gram fragment as found – 50mm x 25mm x 18mm - $20

NWA 998: Martian (Nakhlite). Found before September 2001. Tkw = 456 grams.
Nakhlites are definitely one of the most difficult meteorite types to acquire. Not surprisingly as there are only 14 total reported (and I suspect that that “many” of the Antartic and NWA ones are probably paired). Most of these have well below 1kg total known weights. Anyway, I picked up a few pieces of probably the easiest Nakhlite to locate in Tucson. I have been told that the original sources on this have very little remaining. I suspect that they sold a lot of it back when it was announced that this meteorite was found to contain Martin carbonate minerals in it – indicating that water flowed through this at some point while it was still on Mars.
1) Fragments in membrane box:
a) .05 grams – 5mm x 3mm x 2mm - $75
b) .16 grams – 8mm x 6mm x 3mm - $240
c) .30 grams – 8mm x 7mm x 4mm - $450

NWA 1941, Algeria/ Morocco. Found June 2003. Tkw = 16kilograms.
This is a piece I was surprised to see in the collection it came with. Pretty much everything else with it was clearly stuff the previous owner bought 20 plus years ago (much of it frm me). Not sure where he got this one. Regardless, it is pretty nice. It is a small square cut piece that shows lots of nice metal and troilite inclusions in a dark greenish-gray matrix.
2.76 gram part slice – 17mm x 17mm x 3mm - $10

SANTA CLARA, Mexico: Ni-rich ataxite (IVB). Found 1976. Tkw = 63 kilograms.
Here is a little elongate bar of this probably hard to get meteorite (I don’t recall having a piece of it anytime in the near past). It appears that the previous owner bought this way back in December of 1993. At least that what the NEMS (New England Meteoritical Services) “Certificate of Authenticity” seems to indicate. This piece also comes with its original NEMS label as well. One specimen, two labels.
6.38 gram ‘slice” – 16mm x 7mm x 7mm - $60

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 167 - last of the Novak collection

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 167 - last of the Novak collection

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………….LIST 167

January 20, 2015

Dear Collectors,

I hadn’t planned on doing a list today, but then noticed that I have a week yet before I leave for Tucson (gads, I REALLY need to start getting ready). Here is the last of the Novak collection material. Now this will certainly be my last e-mail offering until late February or maybe even early March.

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite).
This is actually an etched part slice of a piece that is all iron (common in Seymchan but fairly rare for Brenham). It was cut from a 69kg piece that was found on October 30, 2005. This is a nearly square piece with one natural edge has a nice etch though not as strong (deep) as I’ve seen on some pieces.
74.1 gram etched iron part slice – 50mm x 50mm x 4mm - $125

CAMPO del CIELO, Argentina: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1576.
The way this one looked when I got it, I almost could believe that the piece was truly found nearly 440 years ago. It was pretty ratty. Actually a bit of wire-brushing is all it really needed. This is clearly one of the “old” Campos but I don’t think it is as bad as many of those turned out to be. Many would completely break apart after awhile. This one merely had surface rust and only a few fragments of any size that came off while cleaning. This certainly is not a specimen for people living in Florida but it is a nice cheap “larger” iron piece (and priced about $60 cheaper than Mr. Novak paid for it years ago).
1428 gram individual – 120mm x 55mm x 50mm - $115

DRONINO, Russia: Ataxite, Ni-poor (ungrouped). Found July 2000. Tkw = around 3000 kilograms.
This is a “natural” (in shape, it has been wire brushed) individual. It had a fairly good layer of rust on it when I got it but it cleaned up easily with wire brushing. One side of this piece is quite smooth and resembles pretty much any other wire-brushed meteorite. The other side though shows a number of fairly large pockets of softer (likely sulfide) material. Not a bad hand specimen as it is now but it should be stored away from moisture as much as possible.
883.1 gram individual – 140mm x 58mm x 25mm - $400

GHUBARA, Oman: (L5). Found 1954.
I know that this is officially labeled as just an L5 but it is really far more interesting than that. Years ago, when I had this material to sell (including this piece, Gordon got it from me) it was discovered that this meteorite consists of fragments of L5 material in an L3 host! But it gets even better. Just recently (within the past few months anyway) I read a paper on Ghubara in Meteoritics and Planetary Science (the technical journal that comes with your Meteoritical Society membership). It now says that Ghubara is a regolith (surface of its parent body) breccia. BUT it is not “just” an ordinary regolith breccia but one that was from the surface of the ORIGINAL L-chondrite parent body. So, this meteorite formed on the surface of the L parent before it got smashed apart (and showered the Earth with a huge number of meteorites) around 500 million years ago. Kind of neat. Kind of wish I had gotten more of this stuff (or sold off less of it) back when it was readily available. This is a wonderful obviously complete individual. It does not really show any fusion crust any more, but it has the complete meteorite rounded shape with the occasional thumbprint.
1495 gram complete individual – 130mm x 90mm x 80mm - SOLD

LIBYAN DESERT GLASS:
This is an “individual” that has one small (10mm x 8mm) end chipped. The remainder is obvious original surfaces. This is not the clearest of specimens (and is priced accordingly). It looks fairly foggy looking at it when it is just sitting on a table but it is interesting when held up to a light. Light passes through it quite nicely. The bubbles in the piece have an obvious layering to them. One end o the piece (the end with a chip) is distinctly more yellow as well.
46.0 gram individual – 50mm x 30mm x 25mm - $70

MOLDAVITE:
This is a really nice little piece that has been mounted (glued with silicone I think) to a small wood display base. The specimen is of very good quality, showing nice shape and surface features. I can’t be sure of the weight exactly, but I am certain that it is 6 grams or a bit over.
About 6 gram individual on wood display base – 30mm x 15mm x 7mm - $45

NANTAN, China: Medium octahedrite (IAB). Found 1958.
Here is a nice fist-sized piece that I can pretty much guarantee won’t rust. That is because this is pretty much already all rust. This is a nice solid piece of the oxide material from this fall. This is like the Canyon Diablo material – a mix of magnetite, hematite and other oxides and hydroxides so there is no metal left to rust further. I am NOT going to cut this open to be sure that that is fully the case in this piece though. This one required absolutely nothing to get it ready for market. It is just as I got it. It has a nice yellow, brown and even some red coloration and is actually a nice “large” display piece.
1069 gram oxide individual – 125mm x 90mm x 55mm - $100

NWA unstudied:
This, in my opinion, was the nicer of the two “large” NWAs Gordon had in his collection. This is quite solid and I can tell it would be quite fresh internally. I may end up cutting it. It looks like it has a couple interesting inclusions showing on the surface so it mighty be pretty interesting internally. This almost looks like it could be an 869 but its not quite exact. Regardless, it is a nice hand specimen. It looks to have something over 50% of its exterior being fusion crust (though much of it is somewhat wind polished). The remainder is secondary crust or old breaks (no fresh breaks on this piece).
876.7 gram individual – 90mm x 80mm x 50mm - $260

SANTA CATHERINA, Brazil: Ni-rich ataxite (ungrouped). Found 1875. Tkw = over 7tons.
I got two pieces of this in the Novak collection. One is an end piece and the other is a complete “individual”. Unfortunately, they are both oxide pieces. But then, I think this is the only way I have ever seen this meteorite available. The outer surfaces of theses are orange/ brown with some darker veining and, the “complete” piece having obvious lighter colored fragments embedded in it. The interior of the cut piece shows a dark gray/ brown magnetite and limonite mix. From the label (that I am putting with the larger piece) and the painted XZZ mark on the end piece, I am pretty certain that Gordon got these from me when I was selling the Tom Palmer collection many years ago.
a) 74.3 gram end piece – 55mm x 35mm x 25mm - $70
b) 119.7 gram “individual” – 55mm x 40mm x 30mm - $100

Baline Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 164 Novak Collection Pt.2

Baline Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 164 Novak Collection Pt.2

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………….LIST 164
December 2, 2014

Dear Collectors,

Here is another selection of items from the Novak collection.

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1882.
Here is a ¼ slice that I sold Mr. Novak some years ago. It is a piece that was cut from the 351 pound piece that was found on a hill. The slices I have had from this piece (which were properly prepared by Marlin Cilz using no water) have been very stable. This one supports that. I have done nothing to it and it looks great! This has 2 cut edges and one long natural edge.
83.1 gram part slice – 55mm x 50mm x 6mm - $290

CAMPO del CIELO, Argentina: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1576.
This is a lightly etched end piece. The interior shows some light staining (most likely from someone as lousy at as me trying to etch the thing and failing to neutralize the acid completely when done). There is some minor small rust spots around the edges but this is nice overall. The back is fully natural in shape but has been wire-brushed. A nice hand specimen that would be great for a pass-around display piece.
359.1 gram end piece – 90mm x 45mm x 20mm - $70

CHINGA, Russia: Ataxite, Ni-rich (ungrouped). Found 1913.
This is a nice complete individual. It has been somewhat wire-brushed but still retains (mostly0 a nice dark brown patina. This has the usual somewhat flattened “lensoidal” shape that most of the meteorites found from this fall have. A nice clean and solid individual.
908. 5 gram individual – 100mm x 60mm x 30mm - $550

DRONINO, Russia: Ataxite Ni-poor (ungrouped). Found July 2000. Tkw = around 3000 kilograms.
This piece was somewhat surprising. I would expect a slice of this common to rust meteorite completely fall apart. However, this actually in really great shape when I got it. There was a little bit of rusting around the edges (this is a complete slice) but that was it! I am not sure what this was coated with originally. It seemed like some kind of wax – kind of sticky/ slimy. I stripped it of and re-coated the thing. This shows bright polished metal on one side and deeply etched (only bringing out a granular texture) on the other. Both sides show lots of the elongate sulphide inclusions common in this meteorite.
132.0 gram complete slice – 130mm x 30mm x 4mm - $130

GOLD BASIN, Arizona: (L4). Found November 1995. Tkw = over 127 kilograms.
Here are three pieces Gordon had in his collection. The smallest is an end piece and still shows a nice fresh interior. The smaller fragment does appear to be just a fragment (no real crust that I can see) but is all original old surfaces (no fresh breaks), The 238g piece is quite nice. The exterior is all old natural. Much of it is old secondary or fractured surfaces but the top (nearly 50% of the stone) still shows obvious fusion crust.
a) 28.7 gram end piece – 30mm x 30mm x 15mm - $35
b) 39.7 gram fragment (all natural) – 37mm x 35mm x 13mm - $50
c) 238.5 gram individual – 70mm x 55mm x 40mm - $235
d) a large one I had from earlier at a much lower price; 1483 gram individual/ fragment as found - $1100.00. This is the largest I have ever had and is likely close to the largest ever found. The largest reported in the Bulletin is 1520 grams.

NANTAN, China: Medium octahedrite (IAB). Found 1958.
This came with no label. Looking it over though, its colors, surface features and the shiny in areas (like it has been coated with lacquer at one time) tell me it is a Nantan. This surprises me a bit as this piece is quite solid and only needed the lightest of wire-brushing to bring it to top form. It is rare, but there are indeed stable pieces of Nantan that are not just oxide. This appears to be one of them. It may have some oxides yet in some of the deeper recesses (where a wire brush won’t reach) but it is actual iron overall. This is a nice hand specimen and could easily be mistaken for a Canyon Diablo or such.
676 gram iron individual – 70mm x 70mm x 40mm - $100

SHIROKOVSKY, Russia: Fake pallasite.
I vividly remember when this stuff acme out. I lost quite a bit of money on it (as many of us did). It first appeared priced at around $50/g. I did not buy any – too expensive. I was also hesitant as the metal had a man-made granular look to it to me. Regardless, I ended up taking some to sell on consignment (after I was shown the “official” research reports that clearly said this was indeed a meteorite). Dumb. I ended up refunding everybody’s money (and only got partial refund from the seller). None the less, most collectors LIKE being able to have/ show a good counterfeit, as long as they know/ pay for what they are really getting. Once we figured out that this was fake, I tried to get the folks handling this to make/ prepare more of it in mostly thicker slices for cabechons/ lapidary material (I am sure it would sell well, if priced for what it IS not as a “rare” meteorite). No luck there, unfortunately. This is (was) a super thin 4 gram slice. It was already broken when I got the collection in Denver, but I have managed to finish the job in bringing all of this stuff home (should have put it in its own box). Anyway, it is a bag of small (one up to 2cm x 3cm) slices that would be great for the micro seller. These come with 3 different cards; one info card, one hand-written label and the card, apparently, of the original seller.
4.0 grams of slices - $20

TOLUCA, Mexico: Coarse octahedrite. Found 1776.
This one was needing some work when I got it. I went to knocking off the obvious loose fragments and then started to wire-brush the piece. Thankfully I was paying attention. As a rolled the thing over I noticed that I came fairly close to removing a museum number that I had not noticed on my initial inspection of the piece. It turns out that this specimen is a Monig piece! It has a very clear M8.33 painted on it (this likely would have been put on this piece buy Glenn and Margaret Huss when they cataloged the Monig collection. This, unfortunately, does not have a matching Monig label. It does have a Mark Bostic Collection label though. This has the weight as 482 grams, so it seems I only lost a couple grams in cleaning this piece.
479.9 gram Monig labeled individual – 90mm x 45mm x 35mm - $400

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 162 - American Meteorite Lab specimens

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale  -  List 162 - American Meteorite Lab specimens

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………….LIST 162
October 20, 2014

Dear Collectors,

Note: I am sending this out a day early as I just realized that I will be leaving town Thursday afternoon through Sunday.  

Here is an amazing batch of old American Meteorite Lab specimens that I recently received. I had planned on offering these over a couple lists. However, I will not be doing an early November list (as I will be off to Socorro for the Mineral Symposium and its associated show the day after that should be sent out). So, rather than stretch this out into late November and early December (I usually put 7 or 8 items on a typical list, so this lot would normally cover 3 offerings) I decided to simply let it all fly now. I hope this rather large offering does not overwhelm too many (financially, if they want specimens or the extra long length for those that might simply read it). Anyway, These are all American Meteorite Lab pieces with their original labels! Most of these are Nininger labeled pieces but some of these are the later Huss labeled specimens. When Glenn (Nininger’s son in law) took over, he changed to a “new” numbering system for AML specimens such that they would have an H at the start, showing that they were “Huss” specimens. In the list of specimens and their descriptions I’ll make note of what number is on the specimen. Strait numbers are Nininger pieces and those that are H and then a number are Huss pieces. It is a very rare day anymore that I get even one AML specimen (and usually the paper label that is supposed to be with it is missing ) but it is truly special to end up with close to 20 different to offer now. Note, the “find” dates on some of these are slightly different than what is officially reported in the Catalog of Meteorites. I am using the dates and TKW that are on the cards (prepared by Dr. Nininger or Glenn Huss) that are with the specimen. So don’t freak out if, while doing a little research on some of these, you see dates or total knowns that are a bit different, these are indeed the ones listed in the catalog, Met Bulletin.

BONDOC, Philippines: (Mesosiderite). Found 1957, recognized 1959. Tkw = 888.6kilograms.
This piece is one of the mostly silicate specimens, though there are a couple metal flakes visible in it. This has a little bit of surface rusting, mostly on the “natural” edges. I left it alone for fear that in trying to clean up this tiny bit of stuff I might accidentally end up damaging the Nininger number painted on this thing which is  (2)684.223. I don’t know what the (2) is for but the 684 is certainly the right number for Bondoc.
    11.1 gram slice – 25mm x 15mm x 10mm - $100SOLD

BLEDSOE, Texas: (H4). Found 1970. Tkw = 30.56 kilograms.
I remember getting a few pieces of this one from Mr. Huss, likely back around the time I first met him. This isn’t real pretty, unfortunately. It doesn’t show any metal but it does have some chondrules and fragments visible (best on the unpolished side that also has the specimen number – H121.15 on it). This is a complete slice of a fragment – no cut edges.
    12.8 grams slice – 50mm x 19mm x 6mm - $125  SOLD

BRENHAM, Kansas: (pallasite). Found 1885. Tkw = 4400 kilograms.
Not surprisingly, this one is a bit of a mess. It still shows quite a lot of bright metal but some of the (surprisingly clear and colorful) crystals have popped out (I think they are all still in the box). This is a Huss piece and is numbered 49.76, though the number is not completely clear as there is some rusting hiding the last part a bit. Based on its fairly low number (for a meteorite that I know he had LOTS of) this is one of Glenn’s early Brenham specimens.
    26.9 gram slice – 42mm x 20mm x 8mm - $100SOLD

BROWNFIELD (1937), Texas: (H3.7). Found 1937. Tkw = 22 kilograms.
The total weight is a bit higher in reality (around 44kg now I think). I know I had a several kilo piece of this stuff I bought from a farmer years ago. This is a “complete” slice (no cut edges) but it does look like it was a natural fragments as only around ½ of the edge of this looks like a crusted surface. This is an early Huss piece and numbered 15.25.
    17.8 gram slice – 42mm x 30mm x 4mm - $200SOLD

CALLIHAM, Texas: (L6). Found 1958. Tkw = 40.1 kilograms.
This is a long, skinny slice of a natural fragment. Its quite weathered (no fresh metal visible) but it is solid (no cracking). A fairly big piece of this was found, but I have not seen a lot of this one available over the years. This is a Nininger piece and is numbered 670.70.
    21.5 gram slice – 85mm x 17mm x 5mm - $225 SOLD

EDMONSON, Texas: (L6). Found 1955, recognized 1965. Tkw = 12kilograms.
This one came to me broken apart unfortunately. It arrived in 3 large pieces and a couple small fragments. Thankfully, the largest piece (which weighs 6.6 grams and measures 33mm x 14mm x 5mm) is the one that has the Huss number (H31.19) on it.
    9.1 gram broken slice - $100SOLD

GRASSLAND, Texas: (L4). Found 1964. Tkw = 4.4 kilograms.
This one, like the Edmonson, arrived in pieces. This one is quite a bit more broken up though. It came as 4 or 5 “larger” pieces and a bunch of small fragments. Thankfully, like the Edmonson, the largest piece (3.0 grams – 18mm x 18mm x 4mm) is the one that has the Huss number (H23.55) on it. I have had pieces of this in the distant past, but not many. It seems the bulk of this one is tied up in museum collections.
    9.1 gram broken slice - $100SOLD

HUGHOTON, Kansas: (H5). Found 1935. Tkw = 325 kilograms.
Interesting, the first piece I have had of this in years (a 9.2 g piece) I just offered a month or so ago. Now I suddenly have another! I sold the last one (really quickly) at $250. I had several people wanting that one. I suspect that this one may be the same, though it is a bit more expensive overall. This is numbered 280.336. 
    20.8 gram cut fragment – 28mm x 15mm x 25mm - $400 SOLD

LADDER CREEK, Kansas: (L6). Found 1935. Tkw = 35.0 kilograms.
Weathered fragment with cut and polished face (and a much smaller polished area at the other end). Some metal is still visible on the polished faces. Nininger specimen number 280.336
    16.4 gram cut fragment – 25mm x 20mm x 13mm - $200SOLD

LAKEWOOD, New Mexico: (L6). Found 1955, recognized 1966. Tkw = 46.5 kilograms.
This is an end piece or really a cut fragment (it doesn’t have anything I would call a crusted surface on the back side). It is weathered and shows some cracks but it seems to be quite solid. This is a Huss piece and is numbered H53.121.
    38.1 gram cut fragment – 60mm x 40mm x 8mm - $250SOLD

LITTLE RIVER, Kansas: (H6). Found 1965, recognized 1968. Tkw = 4.4 kilograms.
The card with this says tkw = 16.1 kilograms. Two pieces were found and it seems that they were really two different meteorites. The smaller one, the 4.4kg Little River (a) stone is an H6 and the larger Little River (b) is an H4/5. This piece is pretty clearly an H6 (no visible chondrules, a crystalline almost achondritic look) so this is a piece of the Little River (a) stone. About half of this is locked up in museum collections so there is not much of this meteorite available. I can’t recall ever having a piece. This is a Huss specimen and is numbered H83.30.
    8.1 gram slice – 25mm x 20mm x 5mm - $200SOLD

NORCATUR, Kansas: (L6). Recognized 1948. Tkw = 3.2 kilograms.
Unfortunately, this one is the ONLY specimen that came in this collection that didn’t have a specimen card for it. This (to me) is REALLY unfortunate as, after digging through my old Nininger Collection catalog to figure out what this little piece was, I think it is probably the rarest (hardest to get a sample of, certainly not classification) piece in the entire lot. I don’t recall ever having a piece. The list of museum collection pieces seems to show that the weight in collections is indeed pretty much the total weight known. This “rarity” may also be supported by its specimen number (525.9). Being such a small piece and having a low number, being the 9th piece “cataloged” there may indeed be very little in private hands. This is a small fragment that has one (largest) side with obvious fusion crust (but brown from minor weathering).
    1.9 gram crusted fragment - $100 SOLD
    

PLAINVIEW (1917), Texas: (H5) brecciated. Found 1917. Tkw = 700 kilograms.
This is a Nininger specimen (numbered 92.1291). It is a part slice (one cut edge) of a slightly weathered stone. It still shows quite a bit of metal but is a darker brown than some of the Plainview slices I have had recently (but none of those had a number and card).
    34.3 grams slice – 50mm x 32mm x 6mm - $275SOLD

POTTER, Nebraska: (L6). Found 1941. Tkw = 261 kilograms.
This is a complete slice of a very weathered fragment. No metal left in this but a few obvious chondrules are visible in the light brownish gray matrix. Nininger specimen number 476.229.
    33.3 gram slice – 60mm x 30mm x 7mm - $200SOLD

SHIELDS, Kansas: (H5). Found 1968. Tkw = 9.8 kilograms.
I know I have had a piece or two of this one in the past but it seems that most of it (a bit over 7kg) is in museum collections so there probably isn’t a lot of this one floating around. This is a complete slice of a fragment (no cut edges. It is a Huss piece and is numbered H90.57.
    9.0 gram slice – 28mm x 17mm x 8mm - $100SOLD

TEKTITES:
I don’t recall ever buying tektites from the AML (I don’t recall Glenn ever really having any to offer for some reason), so I am unfamiliar with their numbering. The numbering on these is definitely different than the meteorite cataloging. These have letters (abbreviations really) indicating what kind of tektite it is and then a number (so I suppose it might be possible to accidentally confuse a AML labeled Moldavite for a Monig piece if one were not paying attention). Thankfully, these all have the likely Nininger AML label with them so there is no chance of confusion.SOLD

AUSTRALITE: 
This elongate core has the label AU375 painted on it. The AML card that comes with gives the locality as “Williams Creek, South Australia”.
    7,0 grams – 25mm x 17mm x 12mm - $100SOLD

BEDIASITE: Tektite from Texas.
The label that comes with this piece has the locality as “Somerville, Texas”. The number on this individual is B95.
    4.0 grams – 22mm x 12mm x 11mm - $100 _SOLD

INDOCHINITE:
The label for this piece gives the locality as Dalat, Vietnam. The specimen is numbered IC513.
    3.5 grams – 32mm x 10mm x 7mm - $75SOLD
SOLD
MOLDAVITE: 
This piece is labeled M43 and the card gives the locality as “Lhenice, Sudbohmen”. 
    7.1 grams – 23mm x 20mm x 10mm - $100SOLD

PHILIPPINITE:
This small round piece is labeled R1194. The card gives the locality as Luzon, Philippines and the “class” as Tektite (rizalite). 
    7.3 grams – 21mm x 18mm x 14mm - $100SOLD