Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale- List 268 6NOV2023

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

LIST 268 - November 6, 2023


Dear Collectors,
  Here is another assortment of things that (mostly) came home with me from the Denver show. There are a couple “expensive” items here but most of these are more in the realm of normal collectors as opposed to high end collection or museum kind of priced things.



ALLENDE, Mexico: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3.2). Fell February 8, 1969.
I sure remember when this stuff was common. I had several multi-kilo bags of pieces. Granted, most of those were just broken (but fresh) fragments I got in a museum trade. I have long since sold all of those. This is a piece that is a typical “individual” from this fall. This has the usual edge chipping, broken areas (these things obviously came in through the atmosphere tightly packed as almost all pieces of this meteorite show evidence of banging into each other and late in the fall breaking). This is a quite fresh piece. It has a couple spots of minor adhering dirt but is otherwise very fresh (I remember some of the stones I got late in the recovery process. They were being brought to the shows by a guy straight from the area and were “recent” finds. These things were very weathered and some even had lichen growing on them!). This has around 40-50% primary fusion crust with the remainder being chipped/ broken or (very) thin secondary crust. A nice example of a typical stone from this high demand but kind of hard to come by these days fall.
28.3 gram individual – 24mm x 24mm x 23mm - $565

LAAYOUNE(002), Western Sahara: Lunar (feldspathic breccia).Found Jan 2022. Tkw = 5.15kg.
I like these because they may be fragments but they look entirely like complete, natural individuals. They have (likely wind) rounded shapes, smooth somewhat shiny surfaces. No recent fresh breaks. These may not be whole individuals as they fell (but, then again, they might be) but sure loom the part regardless. These are clean and nice – no caliche or dirt stuck to these.
1) Natural individuals as found:
a) .68 grams – 15mm x 7mm x 4mm - $28
b) 1.22 grams – 13mm x 11mm x 4mm - $49
c) 2.60 grams – 20mm x 11mm x 8mm - $100
d) 5.30 grams – 22mm x 13mm x 13mm - $200

LIBYAN GLASS SCARAB:
Here is a piece of Libyan Desert Glass that has been carved into a scarab. Not high end art work on this (it also has an (eye of Horace???) carved on the bottom flat side) but it is still kind of neat. One of these was found in king Tut’s burial mask. Every so often that info gets out in a TV program of one sort or another. I often know when this happens as my phone starts ringing with lots of people asking for Libyan Glass whenever one of these programs goes on the air. IF I knew when one was going to run, I’d probably be better hanging onto this particular piece and offering it 9at a substantially higher price) then. This piece was part of the 2014 COMETS (Colorado Meteorite club) auction during the Denver show that year (it was September 14th to be exact). This comes with the Comet Shop label that came with the piece from that auction.
6.9 gram carved scarab – 29mm x 21mm x 9mm - $65

MOLDAVITE:
This is the largest piece of moldavite I have had in a long time. I would have sold this if I just had it a day or two earlier at the show (I had a customer that was looking specifically for a large, rounded moldavite specimen. All I had was a fairly large (18g) flatish piece). Anyway, this is an entirely complete (no recent chips or dings) that is almost egg shaped. It has really nice texture/ etching that radiates out from the center (giving this an oriented look). The only “problem” I see with this is that it still has some of the conglomerate matrix they find these things in (when they find them at the source instead of as rounded, water tumbled specimens found down- stream after they have naturally weathered out of the matrix) I suspect that this piece was found very close to where it was locked in the conglomerate gravels. This allowed it to keep its really fine etching but did not have the chance to weather out the last of the matrix pieces still stuck to it. This is really, really pretty when a light is put behind it.
. 25.8 gram intact individual – 45mm x 30mm x 15mm - $700





NWA (989): Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3). Found 2001. Tkw = 146grams.
This is another piece that the collector I got it from picked up at the Comets auction. It turns out that it was the same auction (September 14, 2012) that the Libyan glass scarab above came from. This is a nice ½ slice (one cut edge, rest are natural) and is an excellent representative of this type of meteorite. Not a lot of known weight on this piece, but I have no idea how many/ how much (if any) pairings turned up on this. As such, I am pricing this at (or slightly below – I didn’t have to pay a huge amount to get this) what a common NWA CV3 of this freshness would normally cost these days. This comes with the “Wondering Wonders” (Andrew Abraham – a friend I have not seen in a couple years now, unfortunately) info card that came with it at the auction.
11.99 gram ½ slice – 30mm x 27mm x 5mm - $95

NWA (14041): Lunar (feldspathic breccia). Found Jan. 2021, Tkw 11.7kg.
I didn’t get this at the show. I actually had it sent to me as I had (for a while after Tucson) a customer that was trying to get moderate samples of every Lunar meteorite that they did not have (and they did not have this one so…..). I did sell them a piece (but then have not heard back from them since) and had these nice pieces left over. These are all part slices. They have a really glassy look to them (this material obviously suffered some high shock levels). It has a nice overall color/ texture look to it. It has mostly rounded clasts (light tan, gray, some kind of pinkish) in a greenish gray matrix.
1) Part slices:
a) .48 grams – 11mm x 10mm x 1mm - $45
b) .93 grams – 15mm x 10mm x 2mm - $85
c) 1.54 grams – 20mm x 18mm x 1.5mm - $135
d) 2.95 grams – 39mm x 19mm x 1mm - $255 - best surface for the $.
e) 4.67 grams – 32mm x 25mm x 2mm - $395
f) 7.10 grams – 45mm x 19mm x 3mm - $550

NUEVO MERCURIO, Mexico: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Fell December 15, 1978. Tkw = 9+kg.
I think a similar piece to this was my very first chondrite witnessed fall. It also came from the same place – Robert Haag. I am quite certain though that this was a piece that was picked up after I got mine as it has some browning to the crust. However, this DOES still have the original Robert Haag label/ info card that came with it! I don’t see to many pieces of this meteorite floating around these days but I am pretty certain that the label is far, far rarer than the meteorite these days. This is an absolutely complete specimen (no chips or dings) and is set up in a small Riker box.
2.64 gram individual – 16mm x 11mm x 8mm - $75 – has Robert Haag label.
-----------------

Shipping:
It does seem that I can, generally, send small orders (jewelry box in a padded envelope kind) for around $5 still This is by what they are now calling “Ground Advantage”. Though it is claimed to be going by trucks (and supposedly a couple days longer) I have found that things are getting to where they need to be pretty much the same time as the old “first class” used to. For things people prefer to send “Priority”, the costs are $10 for fairly small things (whatever can fit in a small flat-rate box) and around $17 for large things.

For overseas shipping, it does look like the “First Class” option still exists (thankfully, because most overseas small flat-rate costs are bumping up against $50 these days). Though I have not sent much this way, what research I have done seems to indicate that those small orders (jewelry box in padded envelope) are still around $15 or $16 to send. Obviously, I’ll have to custom quote shipping on larger items (as usual).

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale- LIST 243

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

June 7 , 2021
LIST 243

Dear Collectors:
It has been a looong time since I sent out an offering by mail or e-mail. I decided to skip my usual spring mailed list this year. Part of this was because I delayed my beginning of the year list until February. I thought it might be a bit much to send out one offering and then yet another a mere month and a half later. Also, I have been surprisingly busy with many things since Tucson so I really have not had a lot of time to prep up a bunch of things for a new mailed offering. It would have been easily into mid to late May before I could have gotten something pulled together. However at that point I was out of town house sitting for a friend and attending the rescheduled Denver Spring show. I also had planned on being on a week long trip with friends at the end of the month but that get set aside more or less at the last minute (for Linda and I anyway). So, it would been probably middle of June before I actually would have been able to get something in collector’s hands. Nope. I made that mistake once years ago. Once mid May or so comes along, collectors are thinking much more along the lines of using $ for “family vacation” (though that got screwed up last year for sure) NOT “adding to the collection”. So, an after Denver fall list will be my next mailed (and e-mailed) bigger offering. I will try to pull together a few small offerings over the summer but, to be honest, I have had some difficulty in picking up new miscellaneous things for those lately. With most folks staying home, I have had VERY few things come to me at the few shows I have had over the past year (very few collectors have come to any of them – mostly larger wholesale buyers only at these shows). I did pick up a few (larger) interesting things to offer here. Some of this I got in Tucson in April and some I got a couple weeks ago in Denver. One of these things (Tamarugal, Chile) is something that I don’t believe I have ever seen a piece of before (and thought about keeping it as such). The other things are all material I have had before but particularly nice (or “affordable” as I have been told not to say “cheap”) examples of those. These items were large enough that I had to break the usual list group photo into two photos this time.



TAMARUGAL, Chile: Iron. (IIIAB) medium octahedrite. Found 1903, Tkw = 320 kilograms.
A single mass of this meteorite was recovered. It has since been cut up with the bulk of the pieces residing in museum or research collections. As mentioned above, I don’t recall ever seeing a piece of this meteorite before. I showed it to a collector (actually two) that specialize in iron meteorites shortly after I got it in Tucson and their opinion was that this should sell for $50/ gram or more (they already had a slightly larger piece or they would have taken this one). They commented on how rarely a piece of this meteorite is available. This is a rectangular etched piece that could certainly use re-etching. I thought about trying that but then, realizing that I frankly suck at etching, I decided to leave it as it is.
22.6 gram etched part slice – 2mm x 20mm x 6mm – $950


LA LANDE, New Mexico: Ordinary chondrite (L5), S4. Found 1933, Tkw = about 30 kilograms.
This is a complete slice (that shows an old repair if you look closely) that I picked up in Tucson along with the Tamarugal. It has been a long time since I have had a slice of this meteorite and I am pretty certain that this is the first complete (all be it repaired) slice I have ever had of it. When this meteorite was first found, it was believed (and reported) to be another piece of the already known Melrose (a) meteorite that was found 26 east of this material (that would have made for a really large Melrose strewn field). Later work showed that this material was a separate meteorite from Melrose and that the 4 stones that were recovered represented TWO new meteorites! One was the La Lande and the other is Taiban. This slice looks to be an old Nininger specimen, at least it is the typical thick cut that Nininger often used. I can’t see any evidence that this slice ever had a Nininger number on it. It might not have. But then it may have and been later removed. I know it sounds absolutely horrific now, but back when I first started selling meteorites (about 35 years ago), many people asked me to remove these numbers (mostly Huss numbers at that point) or tell them how to do it as they didn’t want those distractions on their specimens! (then there was the guy that dumped a whole bucket full of thumb-sized Nininger labeled Canyon Diablos in a rock tumbler because he wanted to catch in of the tumbled Odessa craze that Robert Haag was making a killing on. Really, really dumb. We did our best to talk him out of it but he did it anyway and then learned that he couldn’t get the $1/g the Odessas were bringing because his pieces were much, much larger (closer to 80 or 100g each) and now they no longer had the Nininger provenance.
156.7 gram complete slice – 130mm x 48mm x 8mm - $450


NWA (12269): Martian, shergottite. Found 2018. Tkw = 2+ kilograms.
I picked up a really nice complete slice of this along with some other pieces to break down for sales of smaller specimens (I completely sold out of this material in Tucson in April). I decided to see if anyone out there might be interested in a larger complete slice (I had a good number of 3g to 4g complete slices earlier) at a price well below anything I normally charge for this stuff. I usually sell this for around $150/g - $200g depending upon size and style and sold all I had at the show for a price not much below that. This is a really nice, solid 28g plus slice that comes in a membrane box (which is not in the picture as it is fairly large). This is thin enough to get a great surface area for the weight but thick (and solid) enough to handle freely (but don’t drop it on a cement floor).
28.86 gram complete slice – 85mm x 50mm x 2mm - $2500


TOUAT (005), Algeria. Lunar, feldspathic breccia. Found 2020. Tkw = 3.71 kilograms.
This is a slice I picked up in Tucson and had planned on breaking it apart into smaller specimens (and that may yet happen). Even though this does show signs of a repair if you look closely (about 1/3 of the slice looks like it did or tried to break off at one point) I thought that this looked interesting enough to offer intact first. This has the classic lunar breccia texture similar to the popular NWA (11273) though it is a bit “muddy” in comparison. However, this has a number of interesting clasts that have the look of eucrites and howardites (no, this really is a lunar slice – I ran the XRF on it). I remember thinking that NWA (5000) wasn’t really Lunar when I first saw it as it has many of the same type clasts (and NWA (5000) is clearly fully Lunar, unlike the various self pairings Mr. Curry tried to make to that meteorite with various volcanic rhyolite breccia fragments and cobbles he found in the Montrose area years ago. Now it seems that he is peddling hunks/ chunks/ iron stained river cobbles of quartz as Lunar meteorites on Etsy these days. He even seems to be offering common tree branch sticks as “lunar magic wands” for hundreds of dollars claiming that the bark (which is falling off as the sticks dry out) is really “lunar fusion crust from a lunar meteorite that fell near this special tree” (no way to describe THAT as anything but make believe crazy). This, like the NWA (12269) above comes in a membrane box (the same size and shape too) that is not in the photo. If someone had the desire and the $, these two together would make a really nice matched Lunar/ Martian display set and I’d drop the price a little more on the set..
22.2 gram complete slice – 90mm x 58mm x 2mm - $1500


NWA (1932), Stony-iron. (Mesosiderite). Found 2005. Tkw = 15+ kilograms.
I remember back when I had a lot of this stuff and was selling it (quickly) quite cheap ($4/g range I think). Kind of wish I hung onto some of this. It was and is one of the best mesosiderites I have ever had. It has a really nice mix of metal and silicates and, occasionally, has neat round metal rich inclusions (this piece has a small example of that). This material is also very stable. I don’t recall ever having a piece of this rust, even if it was not coated. I rarely see a piece of this meteorite anymore and Mesosiderites tend to be fairly expensive these days when they do come along. That is not to surprising as Mesosiderites seem to be far rarer (at least in the collecting world) then Pallasites. This piece is in a riker display box.
41.7 gram end piece – 38mm x 28mm x 18mm - $300



SERICHO, Kenya: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found 2016. Tkw = Lots.
I completely sold out of all of this meteorite I took to Tucson back in April. I sold out all of the smaller pieces that I had in my entire inventory as part of that. So, I had to go on a shopping hunt to find replacement material (well, a couple friends did the hunting part for me). I ended up getting a bit more than I really needed (certainly for that late in the show) but had no choice to get the price where I could use it. I can certainly just set this aside for the Denver fall show in September but decided to see if any collectors might like a nice smaller complete slice of this meteorite (pretty much all my smaller pieces from earlier were square and rectangular pieces) at a price that I usually get when wholesaling it at shows. These piece are very pretty to look at but they don’t pass light through the crystals (Sericho is really hard to get pieces that do that much, even when cut really thin). These have also been specially prepared. They were put through a stabilization process so, aside from doing something stupid like putting it on a shelf in your shower (yes, I actually had someone do that years ago with a Brenham slice and then demand a refund when the thing (obviously) fell apart) I fully believe that we’ll be enjoying these pieces years from now. I had some similarly prepared material from this same person for over 4 years and never had a problem with any of it.
Complete slices:
a) 19.0 grams – 55mm x 40mm x 2.5mm - $80
b) 30.2 grams – 60mm x 50mm x 3mm - $120
c) 51.1 grams – 90mm x 50mm x 3mm - $200

MOLDAVITE:
Yep, I have a few (very few) pieces of this right now. I (easily) sold all I had in Tucson at $20/g (I used to ask $6/g and take as low as $4/g on volume) before I even got my room open. That more than paid what would be the motel bill for the show and I was proud/ happy for that. I was soon told that I had made a big mistake. It seems that everyone else was asking $35 to $50/g for Moldavite in Tucson (and very few people had any). There is a real shortage of Moldavite right now. It seems that many (most?) of the mines have been shut down (so much so that one person told me that as little as a couple kilos or so of “new” moldavites are likely to be dug up and sold this year!). This along with some kind of hype on Tic-Tok (whatever the heck that is) has everyone scrambling for what little moldavite is yet to be had. I ran into one of the miners that has closed operations at the Denver spring show a couple weeks ago. He didn’t have much left (less than 800g to start with I think) but they were really nice (but generally big) pieces. I worked with a friend (who has a mineral shop he needs to keep supplied) and we made a deal to buy whatever was left at the end of the show (it was not much). I got 9 really nice pieces of which I only have 4 left. I am offering the two neatest pieces here. These are certainly NOT cheap by old standards but likely quite a deal compared to what you will find on similar pieces elsewhere. The “smaller” (lighter weight) piece has a really neat thin shape with a sharp bend on one end shape. The heavier piece has a nice more typical shape and is completely covered in fine sculpting (I think this is close to the largest moldavite I have ever had). These each come in a membrane type display box that is not in the picture.
a) 13.7 grams – 50mm x 40mm x 5mm - $450
b) 24.4 grams – 50mm x 25mm x 14mm - $700

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 228

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

LIST 228
July 23, 2019

  Well, summer has certainly arrived here. We had a fairly nice, mild (and damp) spring this year. In fact, I actually spent the 4th of July up at A-Basin ski area skiing! It is a rare year that they get to sty open for the 4th (I think it was around 8 or 9 years ago that they last pulled it off). Normally, we break 100 by the end of May. This year we made it all the way into July before seeing or first 100 degree day (it was just over 102 about a week and a half ago). Right now, we are getting the full sun hot treatment usually reserved for June. We have been right at (or slightly above) 100 for the past week. Supposedly, we have some rain (and very slightly cooler temps – but still solidly in the mid 90s or higher) coming later this week.

Anyway, here is a summer offering of a few things I found sitting in the “new” or “rediscovered” pile. Looking at the group photo, I see that the structure of the Zagora didn't turn out. I'll try and get a better picture of this (so the silicates at least show) if anyone does end up being interested in this piece.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.
Blaine Reed Meteorite List 228

FRANCONIA, Arizona: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Found 2002. Tkw = about 100 kilogram.
This is a mostly natural, as found fragment/ partial individual. It shows fusion crust on around 50% of the surface. The remainder of the stone is in the form of two relatively flat ancient breaks. Despite the obvious (to me and likely to most other meteorite collectors anyway) fusion crust, it seems the finder (or someone that they gave it to) ground down a bit of one of the flat break surfaces to show fresh metal, likely to prove that this was indeed a meteorite. I believe that this was a Linton Rohr piece but I did not find a Rohr collection label to go with it when I picked up this (and other) piece back before this year’s Tucson show.
16.3 gram natural fragment with crust – 25mm x 22mm x 18mm - $25

MOLDAVITE:
This is a selection of 10 really nice small complete specimens (I don’t see any fresh fracture surfaces on any of these) that I picked up in a trade in Tucson this past February. These are mostly elongate, quasi-teardrop shaped that measure around 20mm to 25mm long. These are in an 8cm x 5.5cm plastic display box.
10 nice individuals. 6.5 grams total in display box - $50 SOLD OUT

NWA (1950): Martian (Shergottite), Iherzoltitc. Found January and March 2001. Tkw = 812 grams.
This has two different find dates as two different paired stones were found (one in each month). This is a “peridotitic” cumulate that is mostly olivine (55%), pyroxenes (35%) and plagioclase. This is indeed an interesting looking meteorite. These pieces show dark (dark gray to black) angular to sub-angular crystals (the olivine I think) in a light green matrix. It seems there is a reason that this does not look “typical” to me. It seems that it really isn’t. From a little poking around I see information that seems to be saying that this is the ONLY Iherzolitic shegottite available to collectors. The others are, supposedly, all from Antarctica and more weathered. Not sure how true this is, but it does show that this is something far more interesting than just a shegottite. This “lot” consists of pieces that I think are leftovers or broken off of larger pieces while cutting and polishing. There are two large pieces (one slice and one end piece/ cut fragment) that are around 8mm to 10mm in size, one medium sized slice (around 5mm or so across) and some small (around 2-3mm) fragments (around 5 pieces). The three large pieces each have fusion crust along a decent part of their edges. These are in a 7cm by 6cm glass fronted plastic display box. I have priced this considerably lower than the few prices I could find for this material elsewhere (which were around $1k to $2k/ gram).
.87 grams of slices and fragments in display box - $500

NWA (6903): Iron. Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 2008. Tkw = 50 kilograms.
This is a small piece of a nice medium octahedrite that I offered (and sold out of) on a mailed list some time ago. This particular piece got misplaced somehow or it too would likely have been sold back then. This is a rectangular specimen with one small natural (but highly cleaned) edge and is etched on both sides. I had this priced at $4/g when I originally offered it on my list but I am pricing it a bit cheaper here to “get it out of inventory” (so I no longer have to keep track of it as a separate inventory item) and give someone a fairly good middle of summer deal.
16.6 gram etched part slice – 32mm x 14mm x 4mm - $50

NWA (8179): Achondrite. (Ureilite). Found 2013. Tkw = 245 grams.
This is interesting stuff. It certainly does not look like a typical ureilte. It seems that the research work on it also showed that this is indeed not a typical ureilite. The research description says that this is a “relatively coarse-grained, protogranular aggregate of predominantly olivine (with reduced rims containing stained Fe metal) accompanied by minor orthopyroxene and pigionite”. It seems that (aside from its strange texture) that this is unusual in that it does contain orthopyroxene in addition the usual pigionitic pyroxene found in ureilites. The appearance of this is a mottled mix of light tan (nearly white in some spots) to medium brown matrix that has a lot of really fine brown veins running through it. I am not certain if these are shock related (this meteorite is listed as “moderate” in shock level) or from weathering of fresh metal (some of which is visible in this piece along one edge. An interesting specimen (that is a complete slice of a fragment) that is in a 7cm x 6cm glass fronted display case.
6.3 gram complete slice – 40mm x 25mm x 2mm - $175

TOLUCA, Mexico: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1776.
I have always found it odd that this meteorite is called a “coarse” octahedrite. Most of the etched pieces I have ever seen (and that includes this one) show more of a really nice medium octahedrite etch. This is a part slice that is etched on both sides. It, overall, is roughly square in shape and has one natural edge (the 3 others are cut edges). Other than showing a nice etch, this slice also has a couple (roughly 10mm to 15mm sized) troilite surrounded by graphite inclusions. A nice etched slice of a meteorite that I have seen very little of in recent years.
56.1 gram etched part slice – 45mm x 42mm x 4mm - $110

ZAGORA, Morocco: Iron. (IAB) with silicate inclusions. Found 1987. Tkw = 20+ kilograms.
This is a fairly thick part slice that I picked up from a collector who was letting go of a few items from his collection. He was not sure of the ID on this. He had not written down the name, assuming he’d always remember it (like I do sometimes) and then didn’t (also something I am guilty of). However, he had notes showing that he got this over 20 years ago. Well, pretty much the only silicated irons available back then were Zagore and (occasionally) Udei Station. This certainly looks like Zagora and the XRF tends to support this. Also, the thick cut was certainly something not uncommon back then for this material either. This has two cut edges with the remainder (a bit over 50% of the edge) being natural.
24.7 gram part slice – 25mm x 20mm x 7mm - $125

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 207 July 11, 2017

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 207

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
……………………………………………………LIST 207

July 11, 2017

Dear collectors,

Here is the fourth and final offering pulled together from a batch of material I recently got from a collector who has decided to trim his collection a bit. This is also likely to be my last offering for awhile this summer. My schedule has me out of town 3 to 4 days each week pretty much now until late August (Please be patient as internet connections and replies to requests may take a few days.). So, if I do come up with a few new things to offer, it will likely be towards the end of August.

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale List 207
(click on image to enlarge)

GAO, Burkina Faso: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Fell March 5, 1960.
These are all basically complete individuals, though each (except the smallest) has a broken surface or area of very light secondary crust (I’ll list the sizes of those areas on each below). These are definitely pieces that were picked up sometime after the fall as they all show some areas of orange/brown rust staining (but are mostly black crust otherwise). These all have nice shapes. Nothing exceptional but, perhaps, a better than most I’ve had.
1) Complete individuals as found:
a) 5.5 grams – 17mm x 15mm x 12mm - $10
b) 23.1 grams – 30mm x 22mm x 19mm - $35 (11mm x 15mm broken area).
c) 26.4 grams – 30mm x 20mm x 20mm - $40 (11mm x 10mm broken area).
d) 65.0 grams – 35mm x 30mm x 28mm - $95 (20mm x 5mm broken area)

IMPACTITE, Henbury Craters, Australia.
Now this (unlike the Henbury glass I offered on the last list) IS the typical impactite material I have had from this location in the past (though I have not had pieces very often). This is a foamy, vesicular rock that has a mix of orangish brown to nearly black areas. I considered cutting this in half (kind of neat to see little blebs of iron meteorite in impactites this way) but the highly vesicular nature made me think again. I remember the problems I had with crumbling when I tried to cut some of the pieces of this stuff I had in the past.
9.7gram fragment/ individual as found – 30mm x 25mm x 20mm - $15

INDOCHINITE: Tektite from Thailand.
Here are a few examples of what was definitely THE most commonly available tektite when I started business. These days though Indochinites are not all that common. Chinese tektites are what you see boxes and buckets of now and you find only a few Indochinites here and there. All of these show the typical Indochinite surface features: surface pitting and grooving that is generally far larger and far shallower than Chinese tektites. The two small pieces here are pretty typical shapes. The big one is really quite large for an Indochinite (I have had very few over 100g in all my years) and a neat long tongue-like shape. This one has some surface chipping (the photo was taken with this side facing up, so with careful inspection this should be visible) but is a really cool specimen none the less.
a) 50.5 gram slightly flattened round specimen –40mm x 40mm x 20mm - $10
b) 50.5 gram thin oval specimen – 57mm x 45mm x 12mm - $10
c) 154.9 gram tongue-shaped specimen – 115mm x 40mm x 20mm - $45

MOLDAVITE:
This is actually a really nice piece. It is roughly triangular shaped, has no fresh/ recent broken edges or chips to speak of (investigating with a magnifying glass might reveal some micro chipping I suppose). This also has nice detailed etching covering all surfaces. This is not “Museum grade” (think Besidnice locality pieces here) but better than what I usually have.
7.8 gram nice natural individual – 33mm x 25mm x 6mm - $50

NWA (787): (L6).
I can’t find any records on this one. This is a bookend cut piece that has “NWA 787” written in black sharpie on one of the cut faces. It comes in a bag that has a sticker saying “NWA 787, L6, 46 grams” and then “1160649604 (UCLA?)” written in ink on the bag. This is quite fresh. The interior is mostly light to medium gray (and shows lots of metal) with some minor hints of light brown rust staining. The exterior has thick black crust that shows some light wind polishing. This is a nice meteorite. Too bad it (apparently) never got fully reported.
18.6 gram ½ end piece/ bookend cut – 32mm x 18mm x 16mm - $15

NWA (unstudied): Carbonaceous chondrite (likely CK).
This is a piece that I actually found rattling around my office, not part of the stuff I got from Canada (I actually have no idea how/ why I have it, honestly). I know it is from one of my usual sources as it has his cataloging numbers on it. We (he and I) tried to look it up in his database but did not find anything. Regardless, this is a fairly nice little cut fragment. The interior shows very few dark gray to nearly black chondrules in greenish gray matrix (this is likely a CK5). The backside is all older natural fracture surfaces with black chondrules poking out. A great specimen for someone that wants to own a fairly fresh cheap example of a CK.
9.1 gram cut fragment – 28mm x 25mm x 9mm - $55

ODESSA, Texas: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1923.
Not quite sure what to make of this one. My first impression (just looking at it) is that It looks like it might be largely oxide /shale, but its weight and strong magnetic attraction says that it is pretty much all iron. Its shape is also a bit different. It has a distinctly rounded edges shape unlike most Odessas I have seen this size. It has some cracking but seems quite solid. As it has been in a humid area for years and shows no visible damage from it, I am pretty certain that this is a stable piece. Odessas (of any variety) are hard to come by these days.
58.8 gram mostly iron individual as found – 34mm x 30mm x 27mm - $75

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 177

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 177

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

…………………………………………………..LIST 177

August 11, 2015

Dear collectors,

This was supposed to go out last week but I was to busy catching up from being gone for the Creede show (I just now got finished unpacking and putting things away from the show)– I had a pile of work waiting for me when I got home.

CHICO, New Mexico: (L6) impact melt. Found January 1954. Tkw = 105 kilograms.
Most of this large stone was typical (L6) material/ texture. However, about 1/3 of it had a weird slaggy look to it (super fine texture, rounded metal blebs, vesicles and a weird greenish gray color). Interestingly, I had a large (400g) piece of this in Tucson and quickly sold it. Luckily, I picked up a small bag of small part slices a day or so later. These are what I have here (I put them in the drawer at the show). These are all from the impact melt/ slaggy portion of this meteorite.
1) Part slices:
a) 2.5 grams – 22mm x 8mm x 5mm - $15
b) 5.6 grams – 28mm x 15mm x 5mm - $34
c) 11.1 grams – 37mm x 27mm x 5mm - $65
d) 18.0 grams – 37mm x 32mm x 5mm - $100

MOLDAVITE:
To be honest, this is certainly not a great looking piece. It clearly has some ancient fracturing and little in the way of surface texture/ etching. I suspect that this is a stream bed recovery. The one thing interesting about it though is its source. The previous owner got it from Science Graphics, which was Richard Norton. Unfortunately, no card came with it (but then I don’t recall any of the Science Graphics specimens in this collection having any labels with them).
4.1 gram fragment as found – 22mm x 17mm x 9mm - $25

NWA 6950: Lunar meteorite. Gabbro. Found June 2011. Tkw = 1649 grams.
I had slices of this meteorite on my January 2015 mailed list. I nearly sold out – only having a couple .25 to .5g pieces left after the orders died off from that mailing. Luckily, I was able to pick up more of this in Tucson. So, if you thought about ordering a piece off of that list but delayed or forgot, I now have pieces of most sizes available once again. These crumbs and fragments are from my preparing larger (4 or 5g) pieces into those smaller sizes. This is a capsule containing dust, crumbs and fragments. Certainly nothing super exciting, but certainly something that should be tossed aside.
.08 grams of dust crumbs and fragments in a capsule - $30

NWA 8159: Martian (augite basalt). Found 2013. Tkw = 149.5 grams.
Here is one that (despite what some may say) I discovered. It was in the “likely trash” pile of rocks that the owner had brought to my room in Denver 2013. We had few customers and lots of flooding (which was why we had few customers) so I willingly ran a bunch of interesting things on my XRF to help sort things out. I commented that this one was a meteorite as it showed obvious shock veins. Thankfully, the thing was cut open so I could run a cut surface (I generally don’t fully trust weathered surfaces as their chemistry can be pretty goofed up). I expected to see data for a eucrite come up (as that is pretty much what this looked like). However, the data (Fe/Mn ratio, P, etc.) came up as Martian! Obviously, a piece of this quickly got sent in for research. When that got done it turned out that not only was this a Martian, it was a NEW TYPE of Martian! I was promised a good piece of this. What I did get was a 2g block that I cut up and have already sold all of but these “pieces” here (if you want real specimens you’ll need to contact Eegooblago Meteorites. I think he is the only one with this material to sell). I am not certain what they are asking for this material at this point. It started at $5k/g went to $8159/g (matching its NWA number) and I was told (but did not look into it) it was now $10k/g. Really high on first glance, but I know a decent amount of “Black Beauty” (of which there is a whole lot more of) sold for this and higher.
a) .11g of powder salvaged from cutting of this material in a vial - $225

PHILIPPINITE: Rizalite. Tektite from the Philippine Islands.
This is another specimen that was part of a collection I bought over a year ago. It is also one I sold the previous owner back in 1989. The “card” the previous owner had with this had the note “Excellent grooving”. And it indeed does show this. A neat and quite rare specimen these days.
83.3 gram complete “individual” as found – 60mm x 40mm x 27mm - $115

TISSINT, Morocco: Martian (olivine-phyric shergottite). Fell July 18, 2011. Tkw = around 7 kilograms.
Here are a couple really fresh fragments that have really bright and shiny fusion crust covering about 1/3 of the specimen. I saw very little of this material available in Tucson this year and the prices were substantially higher than even what they were in Denver the September before. I guess this strewn field is already pretty much worked out. I also recall that there was some announcement concerning organics that might be associated with life were recently found in some pieces of this fall (I’m sure that did anything but make this stuff more affordable). Anyway, here is a chance to pick up a great little piece (or two).
1) Fragments with fusion crust:
a) .330 grams – 9mm x 5mm x 5mm - $300
b) .402 grams – 9mm x 6mm x 6mm - $360

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 169 - after Tucson part 2

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 169 - after Tucson part 2

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………….LIST 169

March 3, 2015

Dear Collectors,

Here is the second “after Tucson” list. This may be my only offering this month as I will likely be out of town when the next one should go out

BILANGA, Burkina Faso: (Diogenite). Fell October 27, 1999. Tkw = 25+ kilograms.
This is simply an “add the name to your collection cheaply” type specimen. It consists of a few fragments/ crumbs (around 4mm x 3mm) of this meteorite in a capsule in a labeled plastic box.
Crumbs in a capsule - $5

GAO, Burkina Faso: (H5). Fell March 5, 1960.
Here is a nice end piece that comes with two labels. One is the original Robert Haag paper label (the previous owner bought the specimen from him in 1996) and the other is a metal, stands up on its own “GAO-GUENIE” label (I won’t take the time to go into what I believe concerning that “name” right now). Anyway, it is a nice piece. The interior is lighter than most (and shows lots of metal) and back has quite a bit of obvious fusion crust (2/3 or so).
32.4 gram end piece – 42mm x 30mm x 15mm - $80

IMPACT BRECCIA: Ries Crater, Germany.
Here are two similar sized pieces of this interesting material. It is mostly a light gray rock but contains fragments of many different materials. One of the more interesting fragment inclusions are the frothy black glass pieces. These come with their original Bethany Sciences “Certificate of Authenticity”.
22.8 grams – two pieces - $40  -SOLD

MOLDAVITE, Czeck Republic.
This is an interesting shaped piece. It is oblong in general but has a knob hanging off of one end (making it the perfect pendant shape). Overall this is what I’d call a medium grade. It is not chipped and shows nice surface features, though they are not real deep (like the high end Besednice pieces). Not sure where the previous owner got this one. It may have been from me (as many of his pieces were). The card is the one I use, but then that is one that I “stole’ (with permission) from Robert Haag many years ago.
6.1 gram complete individual – 35mm x 22mm x 7mm - $35 -SOLD

SIKHOTE-ALIN, Russia: Coarsest octahedrite (IIAB). Fell February 12, 1947.
Here is the “mate” to the 4kg complete crusted individual I offered earlier. In fact, it was consigned by the same person. This sits nicely on its own and shows a strong, bright etch (something I have never seemed to master brining out in my etching attempts). The back- side is fully and deeply thumb-printed to the point of showing some interesting shape features, though the crust clearly has been fairly heavily cleaned (but then who wants to cut up a pristine crusted individual?).
2265.1 gram end piece – 135mm x 95mm x 50mm - $4500

SLATON (b), Texas: Coarsest octahedrite (IIAB). Found 1940’s. Tkw = 6 kilograms.
Here is an item that I am offering before sending it back home to its owner in Texas. This interesting meteorite has a bit of a controversy attached to it. Though it has been heavily studied and is fully accepted in the Meteoritical Bulletin (Link here, I hope: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?sea=Slaton+%28b%29&sfor=names&ants=&falls=&valids=&stype=contains&lrec=50&map=ge&browse=&country=All&srt=name&categ=All&mblist=All&rect=&phot=&snew=0&pnt=Normal%20table&code=58497 )
there are some that believe that this is really a miss-placed Campo. The photo I have seen of it as a whole piece don’t argue against this (looks oddly orange and rust scaled – like an old salt bog Campo might look after years in a humid environment). However, the interior certainly looks completely different than any cut and etched Campos I have see. The etch on this has a strange taffy pulled look to it, something I don’t recall ever seeing on an etched Campo. In fact, the etch looks more like an etched piece of Sikhote-Alin shrapnel than a Campo. It seems that this particular meteorite has been in a serious collision at some point. As I don’t think there is a crater associated with this find (at least none is known) so I’d guess it happened in space. Also, this slice shows some silicate inclusions. One is fairly large (around 17mm x 9mm). It shows obvious orangish brown silicate minerals with no real graphite or troilite surrounding it. Both are features I don’t recall seeing in Campo (Campo generally has dark geenish black silicates that are usually surrounded by things like troilite and graphite). Anyway, an interesting (but certainly NOT cheap) “new” discovery.
89 gram complete slice – 150mm x 10mm x 3mm - $2500 -SOLD

TATAHOUINE, Tunisia: (Diogenite). Fell June 27, 1931.
This is strange stuff. It blew apart low in the atmosphere leaving mostly small waxy green fragments. Most believe that these pieces have no fusion crust. Careful inspection reveals that some do have very small (1mm or so) patches of black crust hiding on them. This piece is among those. This has a lot of smooth ablated looking surfaces but only a few tiny black patches of actual fusion crust. This is a piece the previous owner bought form me many years ago.
2.7 gram fragment with some tiny fusion crust patches – 15mm x 10mm x 9mm - $35 -SOLD

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

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 163- Novak collection pieces 1

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 163- Novak collection pieces 1

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………….LIST 163
November 18, 2014

Dear Collectors,

Here are some specimens from a collection I bought in Denver last September (well all but one piece – the oriented unstudied NWA is mine). These (and pieces that will fill out future lists) are all from Gordon Novak who lived in Amarillo, Texas and, unfortunately, passed away a few months ago. He bought a number of things from me over the years but the contents of this collection show he bought quite a lot elsewhere as well. I enjoyed chatting with him when he called to place an order. He was a bit of a joker/ smart _ss. I remember one time he visited the Denver show and picked out a number of items to purchase. He then asked “is there any discount for priests?” I said not really and asked “what, you are a priest?”. He said “no, but if there is a discount I’ll go find one”. Classic Gordon. Anyway, this is just an opening selection. I have a few dozen or so other things that will go out on future lists (likely into next year and maybe even beyond Tucson). I may also run a “want it out of inventory offering before the end of the year” list as well. I am in the process of doing inventory right now (grueling and tedious) and will set aside things like this as I go through it all.

ADMIRE, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1881.
This is a “natural” fragment that had a bit of a layer of oxide on it when I found it hiding in the corner of the collection box. It was mostly a brown blob but showed a few large obvious somewhat gemmy olivine crystals. Running it on the XRF showed it was definitely a meteorite and had the right Ni content for a pallasite. Though there was no label with it in the collection papers work, this is obviously a piece of Admire. I have since cleaned it (light wire brushing and soda-blasting) and coated it so it has a somewhat shiny metallic look to it. Neat piece and in much better shape than I would have expected for this meteorite being in a somewhat humid environment for years.
41.0 gram cleaned individual – 40mm x 27mm x 15mm - $200

CAMPO del CIELO, Argentina: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1576.
This is actually a nice, interesting piece. It is kind of a free-form bookend that stands up nicely on its own. It has natural edge around all but one (80mm long) side. One face is flat. The other side of this “slice” is wavy, free-form “cut”. Both cut surfaces have been etched and show half a dozen or so silicate (not graphite or sulfide) inclusions (one whole edge of the flat side is silicate). There are some tiny traces of rust (you have to look closely) but I did not have to do anything to this piece. It is just the way I got it. Clearly, this is from the area of the strewn field that the really silicated pieces (which are very stable) were found.
836.2 gram “slice/ bookend” – 112mm x 75mm x 15mm - $250

CHINESE TEKTITE:
These two large pieces came in a bag with an Indochinite, Thailand, Vietnam label. I can tell from their size, shape and surface features that they are really Chinese tektites. The smaller one is a dumbbell shaped piece and the larger is a flattened oval (though the ends are fatter than the middle quasi- dumbbell like).
a) 120.0 gram dumbbell shaped – 100mm x 30mm x 15mm - $30
b) 180.1 gram flattened oval – 90mm x 48mm x 20mm - $30

COCONINO SANDSTONE, Meteor Crater, Arizona.
This is a natural fragment (almost looks like it has fusion crust) of some of the rock that got blown out of the forming crater. Not rare (there are TONS of it scattered around the crater) but I have not had many pieces over the years (and they always end up selling quickly).
69.2 gram natural fragment – 50mm x 40mm x 20mm - $30 - SOLD

DIMMITT, Texas: (H3.7). Found 1942, recognized as distinct in 1950.
Here is a beautiful complete individual, one of the nicest I have seen. It has a pleasing orange brown to chocolate brown color, and obvious primary crust covering over half of the specimen (the remainder likely being secondary crust). It is a very solid piece with only a tiny hint of cracking, and that is on a corner where a plow mark starts (so being hit by a farmer’s plow likely caused this small crack). The only downer of this piece is that it obviously one of the very earliest that TCU turned loose of. I say this because it is clear that this, at one time, had both Monig labels on it: a large one with black background and a smaller one in white lettering (traces of both are still visible on this piece). When they first began releasing material to collectors (well dealers anyway) they required that we remove the labels that would identify where they came from (thankfully, this one did not suffer the indignity of having its labeling removed with a bench-grinder as I have seen done to some pieces). This was partly because, at that time (this was a long time ago folks), it wasn’t figured to be all that important and mostly because they didn’t really want to let folks know that they were willing to part with anything. The second part makes sense. Once the “cat was out of the bag” anyway they (TCU) got slammed with trade/ sales requests (and even angry demands) to the point of shear overload. I seem to recall that they pretty much shut down the release of any material to anyone for quite awhile after that. Thankfully, when they did start to allow a few things out once more, they didn’t require the labels to be removed (they clearly recognized the importance to the collectors of them then). Anyway, this is an early, cleaned label piece but being an earlier one, it is among the nicest.
509.0 gram complete individual – 100mm x 60mm x 50mm -  - SOLD

MOLDAVITE:
Here is a really nice and fairly large specimen. It is a elongate tongue- shaped piece that shows really nice, deep in spots, surface etching/ features. Not quite Besednice grade but certainly well above what I usually have (which sells well at $6/g at shows).
17.3 gram individual – 53mm x 25mm x 10mm - $125

NANTAN, China: Medium octahedrite (IAB). Found 1958.
Of the pieces of this meteorite that came in the collection, this is the one that needed the most help. Thankfully, it didn’t need a tremendous amount of work. I wire-brushed the back side and did what I could to gently clean off what rust there was on the cut face. There wasn’t all that much but the work I did (brushing with the softest wire wheel I could find) did pretty much wipe out what little (weak) etch the piece had. I didn’t want to risk trying to re-etch it. Partly as I am lousy at this, partly the effort and time involved doing this to a piece that will sell so cheap but mostly because hitting potentially unstable meteorites with acid can set off the rusting process. Anyway, the results are a nice hand specimen iron end piece that may not clearly show an etch structure but does have some interesting inclusions.
257.1 gram end piece – 70mm x 38mm x 30mm - $50

--------------------------------------

NWA unstudied:
930 gram oriented individual
"click on image to enlarge"

NWA unstudied:
930 gram oriented individual

NWA unstudied:
930 gram oriented individual

NWA unstudied:
Here is a dark chocolate brown pointed mountain-like specimen. It is very clearly oriented and shows elongate thumb-printing down all sides of the front. It is clear, from the shape and texture of the sides, that this was a much larger piece at one point a long time ago (why oh why don’t the guys picking these things up keep the pieces of oriented stones together?). I put this out on display around the mid-point of the show in Denver and almost got it sold a couple different times (I should have set it out a bit earlier, before many collectors had already spent their money – next time).
930 gram oriented individual/ fragment – 130mm x 90mm x 60mm - $1500

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