P.O. Box 1141, Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
brmeteorites@yahoo.com
LIST 264 - July 11, 2023
Dear Collectors,
Here is another assortment of odds and ends from the big pile of small specimens collection I bought a couple years ago. In fact, these are the last of the specimens from that collection (I sold most of the material to one buyer for resale in their large and popular retail store).
I will be gone from August 3rd through the 7th for this event. The show itself runs the 4th, 5th and 6th. I believe the show times are 10am to 5pm each day. IF you think you might go (loooong drive from many places in Colorado but nice (for me anyway) to get out of the heat for a few days) let me know if there is something you want me to bring as many of the more collector oriented things tend to get left behind as this is pretty much a “retail” (generally more common, more affordable items) show.
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DAR AL GANI (082), Libya: Carbonaceous chondrite (CO3). Found 1995. Tkw = 860 grams.
The Meteoritical bulleting says one piece was found. I actually remember when pieces of this (well, likely pairings anyway) first started to come out. Up until then, I think Colony, Oklahoma (and maybe a small piece of Kainsaz) were all I had for CO3 meteorites (and neither was cheap). I ended up buying several of these things, more than doubling my suite of CO3 meteorites in my collection. There were a fair number of these that came out (and it IS likely that many are paired) but I have not seen any of these for a while. This is a natural fragment that has two cut faces roughly perpendicular to each other (so, kind of a “book end” cut). This comes with a Hupe Collection label.
7.3 gram cut fragment – 17mm x 11mm x 15mm - $65
DAR AL GANI (437), Libya: Ordinary chondrite. (L6). Found 1998. Tkw 239 grams.
Two pieces were recovered. The cut face on this end piece matches the structure/ appearance of the photo of a piece of this meteorite that is posted in its Meteoritical Bulletin listing. The cut face is roughly 27mm x 13mm in size. The remainder of the specimen is all natural – no fresh broken surfaces. This comes with a “The Meteorite Shop” (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) CoA/ label.
16.3 gram end piece – 27mm x 13mm x 23mm - $50
GIBEON, Namibia: Iron. Fine octahedrite (IVA). Found 1836.
This is a small rectangular etched (on both sides) slice. I remember the days when I had LOTS of these. Right now, I think this my ONLY piece (aside from a small batch of similar pieces I have in deep, deep storage. I brought those back from Munich on the Concorde. I suspect that those are the only Gibeon pieces that have been back to supersonic speeds (a tiny tad over Mach 2) since their fall). I have this piece only because I had consigned it to a store in Ouray years ago. Unfortunately, health issues required the store’s owner to sell out and retire. The new owners did NOT want ANY consignment items. So, I “rediscovered” this piece while going through all the display cases looking for material of mine before the new owners got handed the keys (anything I left behind would become the new owner’s property in full). Years ago, this would have been a $20 piece maybe. Lately, I have heard things about etched Gibeon pieces selling for closer to $6 to $10/g lately!
16.1gram rectangular part slice – 34mm x 18mm x 3mm - $70
IMILAC, Chile: Stony-iron (pallasite). Found 1822.
Not sure how I missed this one. If I had seen it earlier, I would have simply put it on the last offering with the nice single olivine crystal I offered (and still have, I believe) on the last list. Oh well, here it is on this one. This is a much more typical pallasite piece. It has both metal and olivine (though it does lean heavy on the olivine side). This is in a gem-stone holder and comes with a Moritz Karl label.
1.38 gram slice – 17mm x 11mm x 3mm - $55
NWA (1459): HED achondrite (olivine Diogenite). Found April 2002. Tkw = 49 grams.
I certainly remember when this first came out. It was the very first of its kind. No one had seen a diogenite with a fair amount of olivine in it before. As such, and with so very little of it known at the time, it was certainly very expensive. I cannot recall the price on this stuff back then (many hundreds$ to some thousands$/ gram I think), just that it was high enough that I chose not to add a piece to my collection at the time. As happens often, more similar material was found not long after. Some of that material, held by other people, was “self paired” to this first one and fights (verbal and legal) soon developed. Ultimately, a sizable amount of “olivine diogenite” was found (not really all that much, but plenty to more than satisfy anyone who felt the need to have a piece of this type material at high prices). I think I ended up getting pieces for closer to $20/g or so before I added some to my collection. Not super long after this “discovery” was made, I managed to come into the first known Vesta Dunite (a rock this is pretty much all olivine. Actually, Chassigny is the Martian version of a Dunite). However, just as I was starting to bring this “new and exciting” material to market, the folks with the Meteoritical Bulletin decided to lump ALL Diogenites (regular, olivine diogenites and dunites) together under the simple “Diogenite” classification. You now have to dig into the research reports a bit to see if any particular “Diogenite” is what was considered and olivine diogenite or a dunite (that last one is highly unlikely though. I think only a couple Vesta dunites are known even today). Regardless, this is a small piece of the real deal (NOT a later, other party “self pairing”). It is a fragment from the very first recovery. This comes with its original Hupe Collection label. This may not be particularly rare/ pricy type material these days BUT this little piece is kind of historic.
.08 gram fragment – 6mm x 3mm x 2mm - $40
NWA (2126): HED achondrite (Eucrite, polymict). Found 2003. Tkw 227 grams.
The Hupe Collection label that comes with this has the TKW as “2227 grams”. The Meteoritical Bulletin has it as 227 grams. I suspect that a “fat finger” accident happened (adding and extra “2”) when this card was being made (I have plenty of these events myself). The “polymict”part does not show up at the top of the classification report. This just means that this is all eucritic material BUT there are fragments of eucrites of differing composition and or structures in this breccia.
3.6 gram part slice – 17mm x 16mm x 5mm - $40
NWA (4293): Ordinary chondrite. (L6). Found 2005. Tkw 25 kilograms.
The Meteoritical Bulletin lists one piece as being found. Personally, I think it was more like “one bucket full” of pieces. This is a completely natural on all surface fragment (no fresh breaks). This has an interesting deep “Y” shaped crack on one face that has a number of largish sand grains stuck down in it. Nothing rare or special, just interesting and affordable. This comes with a “Gary LaDuke” (???? – don’t know who that is, to be honest) that says that this specimen was “originally from the world famous Hupe Collection”.
33.0 gram natural fragment – 30mm x 26mm x 20mm - $35
TATAHOUINE, Tunisia: HED achondrite (diogenite). Fell June 27, 1931. Tkw = 13.5kg.
These are both lots of the typical weird generally angular (with some rounded edges) green crystals. The smaller lot has fewer (but generally larger) pieces and comes with a P.A. Swartz Collection label. The heavier lot has many more specimens but they range from a couple mm or so to around 5mm in size. Those come with a “Meteor Center Collection” label. Either of these batches would be great for someone that wants to break them apart and have small pieces of a weird diogenite fall to sell to new collectors.
a) 3.28 gram (5 pcs) lot of natural pieces - $35
b) 10 gram lot - $100
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Shipping: For small US orders $10 is needed now. Rates have gone up yet more this year and now the cheapest I can send anything is right at $10. Add $ for the padded envelope or box, jewelry boxes, etc and, in most cases, I am still losing a little even at $10. Larger orders are now $9 to $16 (insurance is extra if desired – I’ll look it up if you want it).
Overseas prices have gone up A LOT the past couple years. Now small overseas orders are around $16 (Canada seems to be right around $14). I’ll have to custom quote any larger items/ orders (both local and overseas). Registration (recommended on more valuable overseas orders) is $16.
I do have a fax machine that seems to work (but I have to answer it and manually turn it on), so overseas people can contact me that way if they must. However, for overseas orders, it probably is best to go ahead and use my brmeteorites@yahoo.com e-mail when possible.
DAR AL GANI (082), Libya: Carbonaceous chondrite (CO3). Found 1995. Tkw = 860 grams.
The Meteoritical bulleting says one piece was found. I actually remember when pieces of this (well, likely pairings anyway) first started to come out. Up until then, I think Colony, Oklahoma (and maybe a small piece of Kainsaz) were all I had for CO3 meteorites (and neither was cheap). I ended up buying several of these things, more than doubling my suite of CO3 meteorites in my collection. There were a fair number of these that came out (and it IS likely that many are paired) but I have not seen any of these for a while. This is a natural fragment that has two cut faces roughly perpendicular to each other (so, kind of a “book end” cut). This comes with a Hupe Collection label.
7.3 gram cut fragment – 17mm x 11mm x 15mm - $65
DAR AL GANI (437), Libya: Ordinary chondrite. (L6). Found 1998. Tkw 239 grams.
Two pieces were recovered. The cut face on this end piece matches the structure/ appearance of the photo of a piece of this meteorite that is posted in its Meteoritical Bulletin listing. The cut face is roughly 27mm x 13mm in size. The remainder of the specimen is all natural – no fresh broken surfaces. This comes with a “The Meteorite Shop” (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) CoA/ label.
16.3 gram end piece – 27mm x 13mm x 23mm - $50
GIBEON, Namibia: Iron. Fine octahedrite (IVA). Found 1836.
This is a small rectangular etched (on both sides) slice. I remember the days when I had LOTS of these. Right now, I think this my ONLY piece (aside from a small batch of similar pieces I have in deep, deep storage. I brought those back from Munich on the Concorde. I suspect that those are the only Gibeon pieces that have been back to supersonic speeds (a tiny tad over Mach 2) since their fall). I have this piece only because I had consigned it to a store in Ouray years ago. Unfortunately, health issues required the store’s owner to sell out and retire. The new owners did NOT want ANY consignment items. So, I “rediscovered” this piece while going through all the display cases looking for material of mine before the new owners got handed the keys (anything I left behind would become the new owner’s property in full). Years ago, this would have been a $20 piece maybe. Lately, I have heard things about etched Gibeon pieces selling for closer to $6 to $10/g lately!
16.1gram rectangular part slice – 34mm x 18mm x 3mm - $70
IMILAC, Chile: Stony-iron (pallasite). Found 1822.
Not sure how I missed this one. If I had seen it earlier, I would have simply put it on the last offering with the nice single olivine crystal I offered (and still have, I believe) on the last list. Oh well, here it is on this one. This is a much more typical pallasite piece. It has both metal and olivine (though it does lean heavy on the olivine side). This is in a gem-stone holder and comes with a Moritz Karl label.
1.38 gram slice – 17mm x 11mm x 3mm - $55
NWA (1459): HED achondrite (olivine Diogenite). Found April 2002. Tkw = 49 grams.
I certainly remember when this first came out. It was the very first of its kind. No one had seen a diogenite with a fair amount of olivine in it before. As such, and with so very little of it known at the time, it was certainly very expensive. I cannot recall the price on this stuff back then (many hundreds$ to some thousands$/ gram I think), just that it was high enough that I chose not to add a piece to my collection at the time. As happens often, more similar material was found not long after. Some of that material, held by other people, was “self paired” to this first one and fights (verbal and legal) soon developed. Ultimately, a sizable amount of “olivine diogenite” was found (not really all that much, but plenty to more than satisfy anyone who felt the need to have a piece of this type material at high prices). I think I ended up getting pieces for closer to $20/g or so before I added some to my collection. Not super long after this “discovery” was made, I managed to come into the first known Vesta Dunite (a rock this is pretty much all olivine. Actually, Chassigny is the Martian version of a Dunite). However, just as I was starting to bring this “new and exciting” material to market, the folks with the Meteoritical Bulletin decided to lump ALL Diogenites (regular, olivine diogenites and dunites) together under the simple “Diogenite” classification. You now have to dig into the research reports a bit to see if any particular “Diogenite” is what was considered and olivine diogenite or a dunite (that last one is highly unlikely though. I think only a couple Vesta dunites are known even today). Regardless, this is a small piece of the real deal (NOT a later, other party “self pairing”). It is a fragment from the very first recovery. This comes with its original Hupe Collection label. This may not be particularly rare/ pricy type material these days BUT this little piece is kind of historic.
.08 gram fragment – 6mm x 3mm x 2mm - $40
NWA (2126): HED achondrite (Eucrite, polymict). Found 2003. Tkw 227 grams.
The Hupe Collection label that comes with this has the TKW as “2227 grams”. The Meteoritical Bulletin has it as 227 grams. I suspect that a “fat finger” accident happened (adding and extra “2”) when this card was being made (I have plenty of these events myself). The “polymict”part does not show up at the top of the classification report. This just means that this is all eucritic material BUT there are fragments of eucrites of differing composition and or structures in this breccia.
3.6 gram part slice – 17mm x 16mm x 5mm - $40
NWA (4293): Ordinary chondrite. (L6). Found 2005. Tkw 25 kilograms.
The Meteoritical Bulletin lists one piece as being found. Personally, I think it was more like “one bucket full” of pieces. This is a completely natural on all surface fragment (no fresh breaks). This has an interesting deep “Y” shaped crack on one face that has a number of largish sand grains stuck down in it. Nothing rare or special, just interesting and affordable. This comes with a “Gary LaDuke” (???? – don’t know who that is, to be honest) that says that this specimen was “originally from the world famous Hupe Collection”.
33.0 gram natural fragment – 30mm x 26mm x 20mm - $35
TATAHOUINE, Tunisia: HED achondrite (diogenite). Fell June 27, 1931. Tkw = 13.5kg.
These are both lots of the typical weird generally angular (with some rounded edges) green crystals. The smaller lot has fewer (but generally larger) pieces and comes with a P.A. Swartz Collection label. The heavier lot has many more specimens but they range from a couple mm or so to around 5mm in size. Those come with a “Meteor Center Collection” label. Either of these batches would be great for someone that wants to break them apart and have small pieces of a weird diogenite fall to sell to new collectors.
a) 3.28 gram (5 pcs) lot of natural pieces - $35
b) 10 gram lot - $100
=======================================================
Shipping: For small US orders $10 is needed now. Rates have gone up yet more this year and now the cheapest I can send anything is right at $10. Add $ for the padded envelope or box, jewelry boxes, etc and, in most cases, I am still losing a little even at $10. Larger orders are now $9 to $16 (insurance is extra if desired – I’ll look it up if you want it).
Overseas prices have gone up A LOT the past couple years. Now small overseas orders are around $16 (Canada seems to be right around $14). I’ll have to custom quote any larger items/ orders (both local and overseas). Registration (recommended on more valuable overseas orders) is $16.
I do have a fax machine that seems to work (but I have to answer it and manually turn it on), so overseas people can contact me that way if they must. However, for overseas orders, it probably is best to go ahead and use my brmeteorites@yahoo.com e-mail when possible.
