Showing posts with label Lunar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lunar. Show all posts

Wednesday 4 October 2023

Blaine Reed Meteorites- LIST 266- 04OCT2023

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

LIST 265 - October 4, 2023

Dear Collectors

Here is my Fall/ after Denver list. Sometimes, I have a list already set to go before I head off to the Denver show. Not this time. Kind of glad I waited. I never know what I am going to pick up at a show. Sometimes I get something new or exciting. This time I got something fairly special while at the show and I am glad I did not have to wait until my New Year’s list to offer it.
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DRONINO, Russia: Iron (ungrouped), Ataxite. Found 2000. Tkw = >3000kg.
I have had pieces of this meteorite off and on for some 20 years now but I think this is the first time I have ever had enough pieces to offer on a catalog. The first piece of this (a 40kg specimen) was found in July 2000 by a guy while he was heading home from mushroom hunting (something I like to do myself when we actually get enough moisture. This year, I was only able to get a couple handfuls of Chantrelles). It was a few years later before it was recognized as a meteorite. Of course, that set off a rush (both scientific and meteorite hunters) of expeditions to the area. It is suspected that a crater (guesstimated to be around 30m diameter) is hidden/ buried in the area. These are all small polished slices that show the classic shiny metal with rounded blobs of troilite texture of this ataxite. Part slices; polished both sides: a) 5.1 grams - 23mm x 13mm x 2.5mm - $20
b) 10.1 grams - 29mm x 13mm x 3mm - $35
c) 15.5 grams - 37mm x 23mm x 2mm - $50
d) 25.5 grams - 39mm x 37mm x 2.5mm - $80
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NWA 11615: Ordinary chondrite. (LL3), S2, W2. Found 2017. Tkw = 3.11 kg.
Though I am glad to have gotten this at the show, this is not the “special” thing I brought back from Denver. A single 3114g stone was found before August of 2017 (when it was sold to a dealer who bought it in Temara, Morocco). The interior shows lots of closely packed, well-formed chondrules (mostly lighter grays, tans to almost white) set in a finer-grained matrix that has altered kamacite (giving it kind of an orange brown coloration that sets off the chondrules quite nicely). Unfortunately, as with most “3s” these days, the sub-typing was not done on this (meeting the Nomenclature Committee’s updated requirements to do this is a very expensive and time consuming process so few type 3s are getting this done these days). So, a nice, affordable representative type 3 chondrite but no idea what the subtype (3.2, 3.5, 3.7……) might be.Slices: a) 6.0 grams - 25mm x 20mm x 4mm - $21
b) 10.9 grams - 30mm x 21mm x 5mm - $37
c) 23.5 grams - 45mm x 31mm x 5mm - $75
d) 52.1 grams - 90mm x 47mm x 4mm - $160
e) 102.8 grams - 90mm x 88mm x 4mm - $310 – complete slice.
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NWA 15893: Enstatite chondrite (EH6). Found 2022. Tkw = 3.4kg.
This is the item that I am glad to have waited on for this list. It has been a loooong time since I have had a decent fresh enstatite chondrite of any type to offer (I think NWA (1910) was the last one more than a decade ago and that was priced at $50/g). These things (particularly fresh ones) are incredibly rare. This particular meteorite is only the 9th of its type known (with the total of type being not much over 8kg). To be honest, at first glance, this does not look a whole lot different that an H5 orH6 (this could blend in quite nicely with the slices of Cassilda I recently got back from cutting). However, in prepping this for sale (breaking large pieces down) this clearly showed its type. The smell of sulfur was quite obvious (E chondrites smell so bad this way they are a challenge to cut and polish without good air flow). It took several washings to get the smell off of my hands after preparing the pieces listed here. Here is an affordable chance to up-grade the enstatite chondrite in your collection (I know I already have).Slices: a) 2.2 grams - 21mm x 14mm x 3mm - $33
b) 4.4 grams - 26mm x 20mm x 3mm - $65
c) 8.5 grams - 34mm x 29mm x 3mm - $125
d) 16.1 grams - 45mm x 36mm x 3mm - $235
e) 32.1 grams - 60mm x 55mm x 3mm - $450
f) 89.2 grams - 120mm x 80mm x 3mm - $1150 - not in photo.
g) 117.9 grams - 125mm x 118mm x 3mm - $1500
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BECHAR (003), Algeria: Lunar meteorite (feldspathic breccia). Found 2022. Tkw = several kilos +
It seems quite a lot of pieces of this have been found since its discovery on March 2, 2022. However, MOST of those pieces are very small, angular (often caliche covered) fragments. I managed to acquire a batch that had, generally, slightly larger pieces and more pieces that were clearly surface-find individuals (all be it highly wind-polished). It is samples of these (after air abrasion cleaning to remove most of the dirt and caliche) that I am offering here. I don’t recall really ever offering any “natural individual” Moon rocks before. Perhaps a single specimen here or there over the years but not an assortment of such. These are all rounded/ sub-rounded specimens and not the usual obvious angular fracture (freeze-thaw?? Deserts are often warm but they often do get moisture and cold enough to have this action of destruction occur from time to time) fragments. As mentioned above, I have cleaned these quite extensively (this stuff has clearly been on the ground a loooong time) so they do have an obviously cleaned look to them. As such, many do show the brecciated internal structure. These, by far, are the cheapest (by more than half) of any Lunar material I have ever offered.Individuals: shape as found but cleaned: a) 1.50 grams - 15mm x 9mm x 6mm - $45
b) 2.28 grams - 16mm x 13mm x 10mm - $68
c) 3.24 grams - 18mm x 13mm x 10mm - $92
d) 4.51 grams - 19mm x 18mm x 10mm - $120
e) 6.60 grams - 24mm x 16mm x 10mm - $165
f) 10.44 grams - 20mm x 17mm x 16mm - sold.
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TRINITITE: Glass from first nuclear explosion.
Thanks to the (little bit) of hype concerning the movie “Oppenheimer” that came out in July there has been something of an “explosion” (pun intended) of interest and demand for pieces of Trinitite, I decided to go ahead and offer these larger pieces that I picked up some years ago now. These are pieces I lucked into during the Socorro Mineral Symposium and are bigger and nicer than pretty much any I have ever had before. I got these from old inventory from a rock shop (in El Paso Texas I think where it was) that was being cleared out from a shed full of rocks as the (long retired) owner was moving to California. As all of the pieces of this I have had, these are natural, as found, rounded blobs of glass from sand that was melted by the world’s first nuclear explosion on July 16, 1945 about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico at 5:29 in the morning. This material has gotten quite expensive lately (for a long time it could NOT be sold on E-Bay as it was “man-made radioactive”. True, but not very radioactive (My equipment shows this material to be less radioactive than many/ most brick buildings). They have changed the rules on E-Bay concerning this material causing demand (and prices) to increase a lot the past couple years. Once these “bigger” pieces are gone, I will have only the usual one or two gram pieces available.Natural pieces as found: a) 6.7 grams - 35mm x 23mm x 9mm - $65 - not piece in photo..
b) 8.2 grams - 30mm x 26mm x 12mm - $82
c) 11.5 grams - 35mm x 30mm x 15mm - $115
d) 14.1 grams - 47mm x 28mm x 15mm - $150 - only piece this size.

“WRONG BUTTON” copper coin.
I picked these up in Denver and thought they were kind of neat. I put some out with the (much smaller than above) Trinitite pieces I had at the show and sold a few. These are pure copper 1 oz (28.35g ounce/ 16 to a pound NOT troy ounce, 31.1035g used in precious metals) coin that has an American eagle (with olive branches in one claw and arrows in the other) on one side. The other side is why I got them. It is a couple aliens sitting in lawn chairs watching fire-works (much like many of us do on the 4th of July). However, the main fire work is clearly nuclear mushroom cloud with the words “Wrong Button” above it. Kind of works with a piece of trinitite as a display.
a) coin on its own - $7 each
b) coin with purchase of any trinitite piece (including my smaller ones not listed) - $5 each

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Shipping:
Shipping costs are something of a confused mess since the post office changed rates a few months ago. I can still send small US orders for right around $6. However, this is by way of “Ground (advantage)”. “First-class” (air mail) no longer exists. So far, I have not noticed much in the way of delays using this “Ground Advantage” (or packages going missing but, to be honest, I have not sent a lot of packages out the past couple months). IF you want true “air-mail” the only option is “Priority” now: What little I have done with that lately shows that the cheapest this can be done is the “small flat-rate box” for a little over $10. I have found that for items that are just a little too big for those kind of boxes prices get expensive very quickly (often making the medium flat-rate box (aside from the ridiculous amounts of extra packing materials often needed) at $17 the next best option.
For overseas (or Canada for that matter) I will have to custom quote shipping on each order. IF no alternative to “Priority” remains (first class (which used to be around $15) can’t really do “ground” on overseas) it may mean that the only remaining option is (once again) a Priority small flat-rate box (which is around $48 to most places these days!!!!).

Monday 5 September 2022

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale- List 252 22AUG2022

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

LIST 252 - August 22, 2022


Dear Collectors

Here is the “other” list I mentioned I’d be doing when I sent out the last one. It got delayed for a number of reasons. It seems everyday lately I get tied up with some kind of new battle of one sort or another. I (more or less) finish one and a new one pops up.

DENVER SHOW:
Yep, this is coming waaay too soon for me. I am trying to get ready but having limited success. Anyway, this year it is September 9th through the 17th. I am at the same spot – Frisco meeting room on the west-side of the convention center at the Crowne Plaza (I-70 and Chambers road). I’ll be open 10 am (some days earlier) until - ?? I like to stay open later but the show folks have been locking the doors around 7pm (you can still reach me by going through the lobby doors). I’ll stay open as late (reasonably – no 1am or 2am nights) as people are visiting.

On to today’s list!:

FRANCONIA, Arizona: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Found October 31, 2002. Tkw = about 100kg.
Well somebody got quite the Halloween treat here. It was a meteorite hunter that just thought the area looked good for hunting (fairly level, lack of vegetation and natural rocks) and gave it a shot. Yep, he managed to stumble into one of the largest Arizona strewn fields currently known. I got these three pieces in Tucson this year from a metal-detector guy who found them himself many years ago (he couldn’t remember if it was 12 or 15 years). Anyway, all three of these are complete individuals. The two smaller have complete primary fusion crust coverage. The largest piece (the second largest Franconia piece I have ever had) looks like it is a “half stone” (about 60% primary crust and then about 40% “broken” surface). Well, the guy that found this found it in two pieces. He (rather poorly) glued the pieces together (I cleaned off a lot of the excess glue but plenty still remains). He did look for more pieces, recognizing that there was, obviously half missing. He found no further pieces. I know why. Careful inspection of the “broken” surface shows tiny areas of melted (crust) material. So, this “broken” area is actually an area of very light secondary fusion crust from this stone breaking very late in its fall.
a) 162.9gram complete individual – 47mm x 36mm x 35mm - $150
b) 409.4 gram complete individual – 60mm x 55mm x 50mm - $350
c) 913.6 gram individual ~40% secondary crust – 140mm x 60mm x 50mm - $700



NWA (2995): Lunar: Feldspathic breccia. Found 2005. Tkw = 538 grams.
NWA (2995) was noted (and still is) as one of the very best looking Lunar meteorites. It has the classic white to light gray clasts in a medium gray background. Pieces of this meteorite have always commanded a premium because of this. I sold this to its current owner (it was a consigned specimen back then as it is now) back in January of 2016. This is a 3.08g complete slice that cost him $2200 at the time (this was priced at $4500 not a lot earlier). Wanting to put $ towards travel and other things (photography equipment I believe) he says “sell”. At this point, $1500 is being asked. Yes, high (per gram) when compared to other more recent lunar material but, by far, the cheapest I have seen a piece of this really pretty moon rock. Also, for history sake (?), included is the original invoice I sent with the piece when I sold it to him in 2016.
3.08 gram complete slice – 42mm x 30mm x 1mm - $1500

NWA (7983): Achondrite (Ureilite). Found 2012, Tkw = 424 grams.
I got these pieces in Tucson this year. They are nice thin pieces and clearly show the classic triple-junction crystallization texture typical for Ureilites (and Brachinites actually). These pieces are NOT polished. Another classic feature of ureilites is that they are often nearly impossible to cut and polish (so much so that slices of ureilites like these are very uncommon). To be honest, I never even tried to polish these. I have destroyed enough saw blades and sanding belts prepping other material lately, I really didn’t want to risk it. Part of this is a partially sanded/ polished slice looks terrible. It is kind of an all or nothing deal. Do ALL of it or don’t start. So, be ready to donate hours (a day or two) and lots of equipment (many, many silicon carbide sanding belts or more than $100 of diamond ones) or don’t begin. I chose the “don’t start” as I can see one side of the large slice here that the saw blade that cut it really struggled – indicating that this is NOT one of the (very rare) easy to polish ureilites. It turns out the Meteoritical Bulletin write-up or this says “diamonds ubiquitous” (means lots of them everywhere in this thing).Thankfully, each of these has at least one side (the smaller piece – both sides) where the cutting went pretty well – leaving an unpolished saw cut surface that is not distracting.
a) 10.3 gram part slice – 65mm x 30mm x 1.5mm - $200
b) 45.1 gram complete slice – 80mm x 70mm x 2mm - $800

PEEKSKILL, New York: Ordinary chondrite (H6). Fell October 9, 1992. Tkw = 12.57kg.
I remember making the mold of this meteorite. I had to apply a layer of latex (and occasional cheese cloth) like every 15 minutes. Nope, didn’t get much (any?) sleep that night. I flew back home (from northern Montana to Durango) when done, getting home quite late. Then another night of almost no sleep. It was back to the Durango (well, La Plata County if you want to be a stickler about names) airport around 5:30 or so the next morning for a ride to Germany. Anyway, the mold worked out really well so the meteorite was then cut. This is a part slice from that cutting. This slice does have a little bit of brown staining (mild oxidation) but clearly shows the classic breccia texture of this meteorite. Also classic for this fall that totaled a Chevy Malibu is super thick (like over 1mm thick) fusion crust (that all of us worried might peel off when the stone was removed from the mold I had made but, thankfully, didn’t). The longest side of this triangular shaped slice is a crusted edge showing this super thick crust. This comes in an Impactika membrane box but it is not in that box to show the piece better in the group photo.
2.90 gram part slice – 25mm x 11mm x 4mm - $1000

RED DEER HILL, Canada: Ordinary chondrite (L6). Found 1975. Tkw = 25kg.
Aside from Buzzard Coulee and White Court, I’ve had very few Canadian meteorites in recent years. I got these pieces from the same person I got the Peekskill listed above from. The smaller one has a Kansas Meteorite Society COA. The larger piece’s info is still missing (but being looked for). Regardless, the appearance and textures of both pieces are identical. This is NOT cheap for a chondrite find, admittedly, but pretty much any and all Canadian pieces I have offered (regardless of “cheapness”) have all sold very rapidly (and, usually, back to collectors in Canada). Each of these are in a membrane box but are not in these for the group photo to better show the specimens themselves. Both pieces are wedged in their cut, so the listed thickness is just something of a mid-range.
a) 2.46 gram part slice – 15mm x 14mm x 3.5mm - $75
b) 6.58 gram part slice – 25mm x 20mm x mm - $200

TULIA (a), Texas: Ordinary chondrite. (H5). Found 1917. Tkw = 78+kg.
This piece is from a REAL Tulia(a) specimen I have had tucked away for years. I say “real” as Tulia(a) has suffered something of an identity crisis most of its existence. The Dimmitt strewn field is quite close (just to the west). Back when ‘Tulia’ was studied, nobody had considered two different meteorite strewn fields could be that close together. As such, a (more commonly found, but found slightly further west) Dimmitt stone was studied and reported as Tulia. So, “officially”, most of the records have Tulia(a) as an H3/4. Nope, that is what Dimmitt is (well, even that is a bit different now. Dimmitt has been reclassified as an H3.8 I believe). The real Tulia is an H5 and shows a good amount of fresh metal (Dimmitt rarely shows any). Anyway, this is a guaranteed real sample of Tulia (a).
22.6 gram end piece- 40mm x 22mm x 12mm - $55

TULIA (b), Texas: Ordinary chondrite, (L6). Found 1917, recognized later. Tkw = 4.4+kg.
Now, just to show what a mess the Tulia meteorite area is, in addition to Dimmits getting mixed in, we have at least one L-chondrite(*) in the mix. A couple of pieces of “Tulia” were recovered and sitting in museum collections (Chicago Field Museum and British Museum). Nope, they weren’t “Tulia” actually, they were L-chondrites. I don’t know when this was finally realized, but it turned out that TCU had a couple as well. I managed to get a 1400 gram individual of this “new” meteorite from them (helping them identify it and keep a larger piece of the same material for their collection) years ago. This part slice is (likely my last) piece from that 1400g piece. This shows nice weathered fusion crust along 50% of its edges.

*- I have yet another L chondrite from the area. It is very fresh (nice fusion crust) and had lots of chondrules that looks certainly to be a type 4 (certainly NOT a 6). I spent the money years ago on it to have the chemistry run and found it has pretty much identical Faylite (iron in olivine) numbers as the known Tulia (b) L6. Despite this, I am absolutely CERTAIN it is a new meteorite (it has obviously been on the ground far less time than Plainview, which likely fell in 1903) but no way to “prove” it (and I have to little to try and report it as a new meteorite, unfortunately).
17.6 gram part slice – 38mm x 2mm x 7mm - $60

Shipping: For small US orders $5 is needed now. Rates have gone up yet more this year and now the cheapest I can send anything is right at $5. Add $ for the padded envelope or box, jewelry boxes, etc and, in most cases, I am still loosing a little even at $5. 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.

Tuesday 3 March 2020

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 235

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 235

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
LIST 235

March 3, 2020

Dear collectors,

I am (finally) back from Tucson and (more or less) caught up on things. Some adventures this year but NOTHING like last year. The only thing that died on me this year was my hover-board (well, my uncle did pass away but that was in July of last year. None the less, that did change a few things logistically this year). I only get to use the hover board during the shows (my driveways are gravel and the runway is fairly soft dirt, when it isn’t wet – sticky deep adobe mud when it is). It seems that the battery on my toy now only wants to run for around half an hour or so (it used to last well over an hour). Welll, I was riding it pretty heavy one evening (including a couple complete trips around the hotel as they re-surfaced the parking lot recently). I thought it is getting a bit mushy/ sluggish in its response but it had only been running for 20 minutes or so. A quick glance at the battery light showed it was still green. However, as I was standing on it, moving around (and listening to music at a volume that was a tad high) and I failed to notice that it was flashing a steady “low battery” warning. Well, I leaned into it (got going pretty fast) and then tried to do a sharp turn. Nope, didn’t work out so well. When the engine on my airplane quits (which it seems to enjoy doing from time to time) most people think the thing falls out of the sky like a sack full of wet bricks. Nope, the wing works fine and, as long as I have left myself something to land on within gliding distance, it is no big deal to land and effect repairs (and fly back out when done if I really picked the landing spot well). Not so with a hover-board. When it quits (and it can indeed do it quite suddenly if you are not paying attention) it does indeed drop you to the ground like a bag of bricks. Yep, this is indeed what I did. I watched the machine roll away with a flashing red light (dead battery) signal and that is what dumped me. I managed to pull a bunch of muscles in my left leg and bung up my left hand a bit. Nothing broken (but my pride) but I did end up taking an extra day to pack down the room and load the car (I was moving quite slowly). We also had another “vanenture” on the trip home. The fan belt kept coming off of its pulleys as we were heading to Flagstaff. This happened a half dozen times (about every 8 miles – we got good at putting it back on) on the way into town. We made into town, thankfully. Blake tightened up the clamp on the upper hose on the radiator as that is where it looked the fluid leak was coming from. I wish it ended up being that easy. We ran the car for 20 minutes in the parking lot of the hotel we decided to spend the night at. No leak! So, off we went to Auto Zone to get a new tensioner pulley (it seemed to be making a bit of noise, was old and may have gotten damaged in the shock(s) of the belt coming off). Well, while there, after turning the engine off (this is when a car gets the hottest and builds up the most pressure) the radiator blew a ¼” or so hole (near the hose clamp – so we weren’t to far wrong in the spot of the leak, just what it was exactly). So, time for a radiator replacement right there in the parking lot. Unfortunately, they did not have the right one (and did not have the spare man-power to help me go pick one up). So, a 1.5mile walk (well, more of a shuffle like a post apocalyptic zombie as I had all of those torn leg muscles to deal with) to O’Reily auto parts (who DID have the right radiator but also not enough man-power in house to bring it to us – I got a Lyft back to Auto zone though). It all went together just fine but did take us until a bit after 9pm to get the job done. The next morning, starting the car brought out all kinds of bad metal on metal screeching noises. Hmmm, maybe something else (like the alternator or, my guess, the power steering pump – two items that really can’t be replaced by a couple of shmucks with limited tools in a parking lot). We ran the car for close to half an hour. The noises didn’t go away but they did lessen. My thought was “bad belt” (despite the distinctly metal on metal sounds) as if it were another mechanical failure the noises should be getting worse, not better. A quick experiment showed I was right. So, a new belt (which we now knew how to install in under two minutes) and we were on our way without further trouble (other than the 4” nail that flattened one of the new tires on the car right in the driveway in front of my house. No clue where the nail came from, just happy the thing went flat here and not while on the road. The way we were loaded it would have taken considerable effort, and lots of unloading, to get to what we needed to change a tire on a roadside somewhere). So, adventures, a couple days delay but nothing as serious or difficult as last year.

The things listed below are things that were either left with me (consignments) or I purchased at the show. The show was a bit slower this year (largely due to none of the Chinese buyers and less than half of the Japanese buyers showing up this year, thanks to the Corona virus scare) but not terrible. However, this meant that I, as I did not sell as much, I did not buy as much either. At this point, it looks like this might be my only “after Tucson” e-mail offering (unless I start turning up more smaller things I forgot I bought as I do the finishing touches on putting away all that I brought home). I suspect that my next post/ offering will be my mailed catalog which I plan to try and get out a little earlier than normal as I (supposedly) will be going to Yellowstone with some friends in the earlier part of May this year.
List 235
(click on image to enlarge)
CAMPO DEL CIELO, Agentina: Coarse octahedrite (IAB).
These are both complete slices just drastically different in sizes. The smaller piece is prepared and etched on both sides. However, this piece is small enough that you don’t get a real good idea of the etch texture of this meteorite. The large slice is really thin and, as such, is only polished and etched on one side (it would be a really, really hard job to polish out and etch this backside on a slice this thin). However, the prepared side shows a nice classic Campo etch structure.
a) 70.5 gram complete slice etched both sides – 80mm x 55mm x 3mm - $90
b) 459.4 gram complete slice etched one side – 300mm x 130mm x 2mm - $500

CANYON DIABLO, Arizona: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1891.
This is a part slice (1/4 of a complete slice – two cut edges and one long natural edge) I picked up in Tucson this year. I had offered pieces like this on my April 2019 list and rapidly sold out. When I got the chance to pick up some pieces to satisfy people that have been on a waiting list for a specimen from that offering I bought all I could. It turned out that only this piece was “left over” (I wasn’t able to get many specimens, unfortunately). This piece shows a nice vibrant etch and is etched on both sides.
47.0 gram etched part slice – 42mm x 38mm x 3mm - $94

GEBEL KAMIL, Egypt: Iron. Ni-rich ataxite, ungrouped. Found 2008.
This is a relatively large piece of the material that was found surrounding a crater in Southern Egypt that was found by way of Google Earth satellite photographs. This is a fairly young fall event, estimated to have happened around 5000 years ago. This was also very likely a witnessed event to some degree. Debris from the impact partly covered up what was an active trade route road near the crater. I personally wonder if this event isn’t part of the reason that many of the words for iron in ancient languages relate to the sky and stars (it sure would have been a wake-up call as to where some iron came from). This piece is a classic shrapnel piece as most meteorite specimens found around the crater were (I think a fairly large fusion crusted piece was found in the crater). This has the nice dark chocolate brown wind-polished surface texture over most (around ¾) of its surface. The bottom (part that was in the sand all of these years) is a bit more rusty orange in color and looks to have a couple areas of thin glass (from melting of the sand it landed in) still adhering to it. This stuff has gotten quite hard to come by lately as the folks that took the effort to pick this up some years ago have pretty much sold out (and new material is not being recovered).
2538g complete natural shrapnel fragment as found – 170mm x 80mm x 40mm - $2100

MOUNT DOOLING, Australia: Iron. Coarse octahedrite (IC). Found 1909.
Here are two great complete slices that clearly show the recrystallized etch structure pieces of this unusual meteorite shows. It was this etch structure (along with its anomalous chemistry) that showed that a “new” iron meteorite found some 400km away near Perth in 1960 was actually a transported piece of Mt. Dooling. This meteorite is a member of the fairly rare IC group of iron meteorites. Both of these pieces are etched on both sides. I have these priced quite a bit below what I priced (generally smaller) pieces of this meteorite at on a mailed list (and sold out) a couple years or so ago.
a) 106.9 gram etched complete slice – 150mm x 55mm x 2mm - $320
b) 115.9 gram etched complete slice – 155mm x 60mm x 2mm - $348

NWA (6963): Martian (Shegottite). Found 2011. Tkw = about 8 kilograms.
Originally, only about an 80g fusion crusted piece of this was recovered. Once it was found that this was a Mars rock, intensive recovery efforts lead to many more pieces (totaling somewhere around 8kg) being found. This is a wonderful super thing slice that is in a membrane style display holder (though NOT one of the “Membrane Boxes” some of us remember from some years ago). This has a small round base that allows this to be stood up on one corner for a nice shelf display (I’ll put the piece that allows this below the holder in the group photo). This slice has a nice shock vein near one side that was/ is large enough to have some gas bubbling.. These bubbles likely contained little bits of the Martian atmosphere at one time (and, if any are still intact inside this vein those likely would still contain some traces of Martian atmosphere). I have priced this quite a bit below what most people offering pieces of this material seem to be asking at this point.
5.20 gram slice – 70mm x 33mm x 1mm - $1300

NWA (8402): Stony-iron (Mesosiderite). Found 2014. Tkw = 23.85kg.
Here is a nice complete slice of this really classic looking mesosiderite. This has a wonderful mix of metal (making up around 40% of the cut surface area – often as cm sized rounded nodules) and silicates (of which around 75% is pyroxene and 25% is plagioclase). This particular meteorite was also found to have a fairly high amount of silica. This, along with the high content of plagioclase, some equilibrated silicates and lack of brecciation show this to be member of the rare A-3 type mesosiderite group. This is only the 4th meteorite known of this type. The other three are all named recoveries that are pretty much impossible for a collector to obtain: Emery, SD, Lowicz, Poland and Morristown, TN.
148.8 gram complete slice – 140mm x 75mm x 4mm - $1000

NWA (12630): Lunar, anorthositic breccia: Purchased February 2019. Tkw = 233g in two piece.
I suspect that this another piece of the stuff that came out in a big way a bit over a year ago and has lots of different NWA numbers assigned to various pieces of it (the stuff I’ve had is NWA (11273). However, this does have a distinctly different appearance to it. This is clearly an anorthositic breccia but the clasts are not nearly as clear as other specimens. I suspect that this particular part of the meteorite has suffered higher impact melting effects (or this might be a different meteorite recovery completely that got mixed in). Regardless, this is a nice complete slice in a 75mm x 60mm glass fronted display box.
1.82 gram complete slice – 30mm x 27mm x 1mm - $200

Please note:
Shipping: For small US orders $4 is OK for now. Larger orders are now $14 (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 $15 (I’ll have to custom quote any larger items/ orders). 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. How ever, for overseas orders, it probably is best to go ahead and use my brmeteorites@yahoo.com e-mail.