P.O. Box 1141, Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
brmeteorites@yahoo.com
LIST 288 - August 18, 2026
Dear Collectors
DENVER SHOW INFO:
I will be in the same hotel as last year (Delta Hotels by Mariott. 10E120th Ave., Northglenn, CO 80233 for those of you that will be using GPS). As mentioned above, I will NOT be in one of the regular hotel rooms. I will be downstairs in the convention center level (the hotel and rooms are a floor above this). I don’t have an easy way to describe where I am in this venue. The best description I can give is I will be close to the south end of the sub-room that is on the east end of the convention center.
The dates (and times – I will NOT be able to stay open late like I usually do in this spot) are different this year. The show has been shortened substantially this year (smartly, in my opinion). The Hardrock (where the original classic Denver Mineral club show with the fantastic museum quality displays sets up) has moved to be the first weekend of the once longer show. The original timing used to work great. We had the serious early bird people show up the first weekend. Things got a little slow mid next week but then had a whole new set of people coming into town for the club, museum display show. Nope, now there is nothing to bring in new people. Last year showed that extra days did nothing but cost us extra dollars. We also will be opening what would seem an odd day – Wednesday. This is because there is a small show right across the street from us that opens that same day. It is not a big show but it certainly brings people interested in our kind of things (and those people were somewhat frustrated to find out that we would not be opening for several days yet when they wanted to visit our show last year).
The dates are: September 9th through September 14th. The times the convention center will be open are from 10Am to 6pm with closing on the 14th day being 4pm (we need to have everything packed up and out that night I believe).
Click on image to enlarge.
CARANCAS, Peru: Ordinary chondrite (H4-5). Fell September 15, 2007.
I personally think there must still be a really big piece of this in the ground down there. I cannot imagine how something that supposedly turned into small fragments and dust could have left such a big and deep hole in the ground. I know, when Chelyabinsk fell, everyone was saying that a pressure wave and some dust (all that was found on the surface) was what created a big hole through thick ice on a lake. Nope, they indeed did find a big Chelaybinsk piece buried in the bottom of the lake. I suspect that a similar big piece of Carancas exists – it just would be really hard to try and find out (the area has a really high water table so the impact pit rapidly turned into a small lake). Anyway, this is just a typical little fragment picked up shortly after the fall. It is in a nice 80mm x 60mm x 25mm plastic display box that has a picture of the crater and an ELKK Meteorites label.
.14g – 8mm x 6mm x 3mm - $40
NWA 4502: Carbonaceous chondrite. (CV3). Found 2005. Tkw = 100kg.
This one does not have a label (just a printout of part of its Meteoritical Bulletin listing) but I know it is correct. I have some pieces of this meteorite myself in inventory (this one, like the other things on this list came from Fredric Stephan). This was a complete little individual that has been cut in half. I would have cut it to get the largest surface area, but this one has been cut the other direction. None the less, it still shows the classic colors (tan, orangish/ red) chondrules of this particular CV3 find. This comes in a 40mm round gemstone type display holder.
12.8 gram end piece – 23mm x 15mm x 15mm - $75
NWA 5885: Enstatite achondrite (Aubrite). Found 2009. Tkw = 98grams.
This one is in a 55mm x 35mm x 15mm plastic display box and has an A. Bates Meteorite Collection label with it. This label has the wrong classification on it. IF it had been right, I’d probably put this one in my micro collection. The label has it as “EH5”. There are only a couple of those out there. The Meteortical Bulletin has this as “Aubrite”. Yep, that I believe. This certainly looks much more like an Aubrite (all be it one that has turned somewhat orangish brown from weathering). I remember seeing some identical material to this years ago. It was not much to look at and it was quite expensive (it was one of the first Aubrites from the NWA area that made it to collectors).
.45gram slice – 18mm x 8mm x 2mm - $25
NWA 5886: Enstatite chondrite (EL6). Found 2008. Tkw = 11grams.
Not sure I entirely believe the total known weight on this or not. This is a nice thin slice with a good surface area. IF there was only 11 grams of this, it must have been something of an angular somewhat thin fragment. This is certainly a possibility. It has been my experience that E chondrites often do like to weather apart into layers. My other thought is that this is actually a piece of the Al Hoggounia (001) stuff (that was classified by some as an EL6/7 and others as an EL3(!!!). This is very light gray, almost white with only a little brown staining around the edges. IF this is some of the Al Hoggounia it is one of the pieces that everyone said was “Fresh”. Nope. Actually something weird has happened to some the material that was found in the remains of an ancient lake. The lake waters had some kind of chemistry (phosphoric acid like maybe?) that leached out iron oxides making the stuff effected that way look fresh. Looking closely (with a loupe) this does look different than what you’d expect an enstatite chondrite to look. This has a lot of porosity to it – tons of small vesicles scattered uniformly throughout (where metal was, got oxidized and then leached out maybe?). Regardless, I am sure someone is going to want this as it is a substantial amount of an NWA # that likely few people will ever have. This comes in a plastic display box and an A. Bates label.
1.62gram slice – 20mm x 19mm x 2mm - $45
NWA 7510: HED Achondrite (Howardite). Found 2012. Tkw = 196 grams.
This one is in a plastic display box. It was in there such that the natural side was up. I switched it so the cut side (clearly showing that this is a howardite) is now up. The “backside” of this is actually really nice. It is wind-polished but has a nice medium brown fusion crust covering it. This comes with an A. Bates label.
.56gram end piece – 15mm x 11mm x 4mm - $25
NWA 8781: Carbonaceous chondrite, ungrouped. Found 2014. Tkw = 380grams.
This, to me, is probably the most interesting thing here. I have had very few “ungrouped” carbonaceous chondrites go through my hands and I am fairly certain I have not had a piece of this one before. This kind of looks like a cross between a CV type (some larger chondrules visible) and a CM type (dark background). From what little I was able to find, I saw something that said this looks like it might be related to the (quite new) CT carbonaceous group. This is a nice little part slice that has wind-polished fusion crust along about 1/3 of its edges. This comes in a plastic display box. No label but came with a copy of the important part of its Meteoritical Bulletin listing.
.25 gram slice – 10mm x 8mm x 2mm - $70
Shipping:
USA-
Rates continue to change faster that I can even get used to those already increased just months ago. Right now, it looks like $8 will cover my usual specimen in a jewelry box in a padded envelope. Most of the specimens listed here would be fine going that way. However, if you want “Priority” (and the slightly larger Carancas specimen might be better this way as it is too large for a jewelry box) that is now $12.
OVERSEAS-
This is also changing rapidly. I just mailed a package to Germany and was surprised by the costs and changes. First, the costs. That shipment, a jewelry box and padded envelope thing was something like $25. A small flat-rate priority box would have been closer to $56. The real surprise came when I went to “check out”. Another $38 was automatically added to the cost. It seems that I now must prepay all VAT, duties and taxes. The system tells me what those are going to be but did not clearly say that I WILL be paying those before the package is accepted for shipping (those extra "fees" were added onto the bill when I went to "check out"). As such, regardless of how I ship something, I will have to custom quote ALL out of US orders (I am hoping the system will actually allow me to see what the taxes and duties will be WITHOUT needing to create and pay for a shipping label first).
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
brmeteorites@yahoo.com
LIST 288 - August 18, 2026
Dear Collectors
DENVER SHOW INFO:
I will be in the same hotel as last year (Delta Hotels by Mariott. 10E120th Ave., Northglenn, CO 80233 for those of you that will be using GPS). As mentioned above, I will NOT be in one of the regular hotel rooms. I will be downstairs in the convention center level (the hotel and rooms are a floor above this). I don’t have an easy way to describe where I am in this venue. The best description I can give is I will be close to the south end of the sub-room that is on the east end of the convention center.
The dates (and times – I will NOT be able to stay open late like I usually do in this spot) are different this year. The show has been shortened substantially this year (smartly, in my opinion). The Hardrock (where the original classic Denver Mineral club show with the fantastic museum quality displays sets up) has moved to be the first weekend of the once longer show. The original timing used to work great. We had the serious early bird people show up the first weekend. Things got a little slow mid next week but then had a whole new set of people coming into town for the club, museum display show. Nope, now there is nothing to bring in new people. Last year showed that extra days did nothing but cost us extra dollars. We also will be opening what would seem an odd day – Wednesday. This is because there is a small show right across the street from us that opens that same day. It is not a big show but it certainly brings people interested in our kind of things (and those people were somewhat frustrated to find out that we would not be opening for several days yet when they wanted to visit our show last year).
The dates are: September 9th through September 14th. The times the convention center will be open are from 10Am to 6pm with closing on the 14th day being 4pm (we need to have everything packed up and out that night I believe).
Click on image to enlarge.
CARANCAS, Peru: Ordinary chondrite (H4-5). Fell September 15, 2007.
I personally think there must still be a really big piece of this in the ground down there. I cannot imagine how something that supposedly turned into small fragments and dust could have left such a big and deep hole in the ground. I know, when Chelyabinsk fell, everyone was saying that a pressure wave and some dust (all that was found on the surface) was what created a big hole through thick ice on a lake. Nope, they indeed did find a big Chelaybinsk piece buried in the bottom of the lake. I suspect that a similar big piece of Carancas exists – it just would be really hard to try and find out (the area has a really high water table so the impact pit rapidly turned into a small lake). Anyway, this is just a typical little fragment picked up shortly after the fall. It is in a nice 80mm x 60mm x 25mm plastic display box that has a picture of the crater and an ELKK Meteorites label.
.14g – 8mm x 6mm x 3mm - $40
NWA 4502: Carbonaceous chondrite. (CV3). Found 2005. Tkw = 100kg.
This one does not have a label (just a printout of part of its Meteoritical Bulletin listing) but I know it is correct. I have some pieces of this meteorite myself in inventory (this one, like the other things on this list came from Fredric Stephan). This was a complete little individual that has been cut in half. I would have cut it to get the largest surface area, but this one has been cut the other direction. None the less, it still shows the classic colors (tan, orangish/ red) chondrules of this particular CV3 find. This comes in a 40mm round gemstone type display holder.
12.8 gram end piece – 23mm x 15mm x 15mm - $75
NWA 5885: Enstatite achondrite (Aubrite). Found 2009. Tkw = 98grams.
This one is in a 55mm x 35mm x 15mm plastic display box and has an A. Bates Meteorite Collection label with it. This label has the wrong classification on it. IF it had been right, I’d probably put this one in my micro collection. The label has it as “EH5”. There are only a couple of those out there. The Meteortical Bulletin has this as “Aubrite”. Yep, that I believe. This certainly looks much more like an Aubrite (all be it one that has turned somewhat orangish brown from weathering). I remember seeing some identical material to this years ago. It was not much to look at and it was quite expensive (it was one of the first Aubrites from the NWA area that made it to collectors).
.45gram slice – 18mm x 8mm x 2mm - $25
NWA 5886: Enstatite chondrite (EL6). Found 2008. Tkw = 11grams.
Not sure I entirely believe the total known weight on this or not. This is a nice thin slice with a good surface area. IF there was only 11 grams of this, it must have been something of an angular somewhat thin fragment. This is certainly a possibility. It has been my experience that E chondrites often do like to weather apart into layers. My other thought is that this is actually a piece of the Al Hoggounia (001) stuff (that was classified by some as an EL6/7 and others as an EL3(!!!). This is very light gray, almost white with only a little brown staining around the edges. IF this is some of the Al Hoggounia it is one of the pieces that everyone said was “Fresh”. Nope. Actually something weird has happened to some the material that was found in the remains of an ancient lake. The lake waters had some kind of chemistry (phosphoric acid like maybe?) that leached out iron oxides making the stuff effected that way look fresh. Looking closely (with a loupe) this does look different than what you’d expect an enstatite chondrite to look. This has a lot of porosity to it – tons of small vesicles scattered uniformly throughout (where metal was, got oxidized and then leached out maybe?). Regardless, I am sure someone is going to want this as it is a substantial amount of an NWA # that likely few people will ever have. This comes in a plastic display box and an A. Bates label.
1.62gram slice – 20mm x 19mm x 2mm - $45
NWA 7510: HED Achondrite (Howardite). Found 2012. Tkw = 196 grams.
This one is in a plastic display box. It was in there such that the natural side was up. I switched it so the cut side (clearly showing that this is a howardite) is now up. The “backside” of this is actually really nice. It is wind-polished but has a nice medium brown fusion crust covering it. This comes with an A. Bates label.
.56gram end piece – 15mm x 11mm x 4mm - $25
NWA 8781: Carbonaceous chondrite, ungrouped. Found 2014. Tkw = 380grams.
This, to me, is probably the most interesting thing here. I have had very few “ungrouped” carbonaceous chondrites go through my hands and I am fairly certain I have not had a piece of this one before. This kind of looks like a cross between a CV type (some larger chondrules visible) and a CM type (dark background). From what little I was able to find, I saw something that said this looks like it might be related to the (quite new) CT carbonaceous group. This is a nice little part slice that has wind-polished fusion crust along about 1/3 of its edges. This comes in a plastic display box. No label but came with a copy of the important part of its Meteoritical Bulletin listing.
.25 gram slice – 10mm x 8mm x 2mm - $70
Shipping:
USA-
Rates continue to change faster that I can even get used to those already increased just months ago. Right now, it looks like $8 will cover my usual specimen in a jewelry box in a padded envelope. Most of the specimens listed here would be fine going that way. However, if you want “Priority” (and the slightly larger Carancas specimen might be better this way as it is too large for a jewelry box) that is now $12.
OVERSEAS-
This is also changing rapidly. I just mailed a package to Germany and was surprised by the costs and changes. First, the costs. That shipment, a jewelry box and padded envelope thing was something like $25. A small flat-rate priority box would have been closer to $56. The real surprise came when I went to “check out”. Another $38 was automatically added to the cost. It seems that I now must prepay all VAT, duties and taxes. The system tells me what those are going to be but did not clearly say that I WILL be paying those before the package is accepted for shipping (those extra "fees" were added onto the bill when I went to "check out"). As such, regardless of how I ship something, I will have to custom quote ALL out of US orders (I am hoping the system will actually allow me to see what the taxes and duties will be WITHOUT needing to create and pay for a shipping label first).
