P.O. Box 1141, Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
brmeteorites@yahoo.com
LIST 284 - April 14, 2026
Dear CollectorsI know, it has been a looong time since I have sent out any kind of e-mail offering. I have been busy with all kinds of things. Most things simply pop up as I go through each day (and eat up a surprising amount of my time). Others are longer term that I try and chip away at (with varying degrees of success) when I can. I got back from Costa Rica recently. I had hoped to chip at one of my largest issues while there, but it was not to be, unfortunately. I had hoped to get a membership with one of the “private” hospitals in San Jose. Then I was going to get scans to see what can be done about my hip and back. The hip I know- it has to be replaced. I completely wore it out with all the mountain climbing and hiking I did (way over did) over the years. However, the back is a fairly new thing. I suspect those problems are from my right leg now being a bit shorter than the left (no cartilage left in the right hip means that leg is a tiny bit shorter now which means lower back is out of alignment which means – endless pain and numbness in my back and left leg).
Kevin had lined up a hospital that had a very highly rated doctor for these things for me BUT we found that the rules had changed. It once was pay the yearly membership ($250 range, payable on the spot in cash, if you like) and you could immediately get scans (if the equipment was not being used at that moment) and the doc would get back to you with diagnosis and options for fixing. Nope, now you have to pay with a credit card (and they will NOT tell you what the membership cost is – just that it will be billed monthly and you will know the amount when you get your bill (!!!!!). An appointment for scans will then have to be made – A minimum of 2 weeks in advance and THEN someone might get back to you. Oh, they will only accept message from and send message to you through “Whatsapp” no phone, email or ANY other form of communication accepted or available. BOTH private hospitals have gone to these new ways. As such, neither I nor Kevin signed up for their services. So, it seems I am back to local doctors fighting with stubborn (“you are too young to need hip replacement, so we won’t cover it”) insurance companies to hopefully get back to actually walking like a human, rather than more like a zombie for me.
Anyway, the things listed here are all things I brought home from Tucson. These are all consignment items that will be returned to their owners if they don’t sell here. Not a huge rush, but do try and let me know if there is something you are interested in (even if you need to wait some time before actually being able to take it) fairly soon so I can be sure to keep it in my hands for now. Many (most actually) of these things are actually from Fredric Stephan. Well, actually his brother now. I was shocked to hear that Fredric passed away not that long ago. I enjoyed seeing him at the Tucson show each year and he usually had some really neat things for me to sell for him. Sad to lose one of our own but it is something we have to accept (not happily though). I will have at least 2 of these offerings that contain things of his and hope to work with Tim (his brother) to be able to offer more in the future.
A note about the photos:
Usually, I take the pictures for these offerings outside in natural sunlight. I was not able to do this this time. I delayed putting this offering together and sending it by days waiting for usable weather. We have been in an endless run of either overcast/ cloudy or very windy (and often, like right now, both). On the few days we did have sun at the proper times (midday is best) we had strong winds (like 30+mph) even in the mornings. Weather reports said we’d have this for the foreseeable future as well. I finally gave up and had these pictures taken inside. The light is less strong as a result but the biggest issue is that the light has been filtered through a “low –E” window. This gives the light something of a green undertone. Probably not a big deal for the particular items photographed on this list but it is something I figured people should know.
ARROYO AGUIAR, Argentina: (H5). Fell Summer 1950. Tkw = 7.45kg.
This is a Fredric Stephan specimen. To be honest, I was surprised that this is a fall. It does have some fresh metal in a largely medium to dark brown matrix but, overall, has a more aged look to it. The story on this says it was picked up “soon after” the fall. It was found some 50cm deep in the ground when the rancher who saw it fall finally located just where it had hit. Maybe “soon” was not as soon as we’d normally expect and maybe the ground was very wet. I did look into this meteorite a bit and found that this slice perfectly matches all of the other pieces of this meteorite I could find pictures of (including some with famous museum/ institution labels) so I know that this is NOT a case of the wrong sample getting put with the wrong specimen. I don’t recall having much of this go through my hands before. Whatever may have would have been small and only a specimen or two total – nothing that I have ever had enough of to be memorable.
56.8 gram slice – 65mm x 55mm x 5mm - $580
GIBEON, Namibia Fine octahedrite (IVA).
These pieces are actually from Al Mitterling. I probably would have sold some of these if I had put them out in Tucson. I did sell a couple similar pieces as those were what I had room for in the display case. I had forgotten that I even had these “extra” pieces until I found them while packing to go home (after Al had already left town). These are all basically blocks/ bookend type pieces and are quite nice. Most of these have one natural face. All other surfaces are cut and etched. These days, it is not terribly common to see any Gibeon available and, when it is, the etched pieces are surprisingly expensive (like $6 to $10/g). If you would like a well-priced little Gibeon paperweight, here is a good chance.
a) 34.9g – one natural face – 24mm x 16mm x 13mm - $140
b) 35.9g block – 21mm x 18mm x 12mm - $145
c) 39.4g one natural face – 24mm x 18mm x 15mm - $160
d) 69.1g one large natural face – 29mm x 22mm x 18mm - $260
NEW CONCORD, Ohio: (L6). Fell May 1, 1860.
I am really surprised that these 2 (Stephan specimens) did not sell in Tucson. To be honest, they are not real large and I did have my room pretty full (as were all of the cases) so they probably did not stand out as well as they should have. Anyway, these are both nice, small, fresh specimens of this fall. The smaller piece has a nice patch of fusion crust along one edge. Both look like that came from Ruben Garcia at some point. They both have labels, but only one still has the “ Mr.Meteorite.com” along the bottom.
a) 1.12g slice with crust – 11mm x 6mm x 5mm - $75
b) 1.76g slice – 15mm x 8mm x 5mm - $80
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: (H5). Fell November 23, 2003. Tkw = 19.256kg.
This is (for this meteorite) a fairly large natural fragment. It has thick crust covering one side. This piece does show some “weathering” but only in so much as it had once it was found. The main mass of this meteorite was not found until considerable time after the fall. The owner of the home that it fell (completely) through was convinced that it was only powder and crumbs (what was found scattered about each of the floors the thing passed through during the fall) that had made the clear (and fairly large) holes through things (where have I heard this before? I am thinking Carancas (which was never fully investigated) and Chelyabinsk where it was believed (until they pulled up a nearly half ton piece) the mere “air blast” have blown a large hole on the ice covering a lake). It was some days/ week or two before someone was allowed to go under the house and inspect things. Yes, a good sized (footballish?) sized meteorite was buried in the dirt under the house. Unfortunately, it had broken a pipe(I won’t mention exactly what kind of pipe here) such that it was covered in “water” the entire time until it was recovered. As such, this does show some orange rust staining (but not a lot, thankfully).
18.3g fragment with crust – 30mm x 20mm x 18mm - $1800
NWA (7609): HED achondrite (eucrite). Found 2012. Tkw = 249 grams.
This is actually a nice complete slice of a fairly typical unbrecciated basaltic eucrite. To be honest, this thing looks very much like a slice of Camel Donga color and texture wise. However, this is missing the multi millimeter iron blobs that Camel Dongas often have (which can make them difficult to cut nicely). This has nice black crust around all but about 5mm of the edge. This comes in a plastic display box and has an A. Bates Meteorite Collection Label with it.
10.0gram complete slice – 55mm x 30mm x 2mm - $75
NWA (11446): Iron. Hexahedrite (IIAB). Found 2015. Tkw = 13kg.
This one was something of a mystery. I had these (both directly from Fredric and from Tim later) labeled as “Agoudal”. Did not think much of it. Agoudal is also a similar type meteorite (and I had never had a piece big enough to cut and etch). It was Jason Utas that looked at these pieces in Tucson and knew they were “something different”. He came up with the proper ID on these. We were wondering how the confusion came about. I think I know. Years ago, I was offered a “large” (really large for this meteorite) piece of Agoudal. I didn’t really have a need (or the $) for it so I kind of dropped it. I was later told that this had been cut into slices and etched (I think that was the next Tucson). I DID want some of those pieces. However, they had all sold by the time I was able to get over to see the person that had them. The original piece, I seem to recall, was about 13kg. The slices (I got to see a couple, but they were already sold – just waiting for the buyer to come pick them up) looked much like these. Personally, I am very surprised that this was figured out to be a different meteorite. I was shown a nice “large” slice of genuine Agoudal and it does look different. The detailed chemistry though shows that these two are not related. Good catch on someone’s part. Anyway, I have 2 each slices and end pieces. The price is the same as it was when these were “just” Agoudal specimens.
a) 293.7 gram complete slice – 135mm x 85mm x 4mm - $590
b) 359.1 gram complete slice – 210mm x 75mm x 4mm - $725
c) 447.9 gram end piece – 100mm x 70mm x 17mm - $900
d) 768.6 gram end piece – 125mm x 90mm x 20mm - $1500
Shipping:
NOTE- AS OF APRIL 26, 2026 THE USPS IS ICREASING PARCEL/POSTAL RATES BY 6-8% IN ADDITION TO THE QUOTE BELOW.
US: It seems that shipping rates are going endlessly these days. Sometimes there is an excuse “holiday rush pricing” (that started in October and never did drop back down). Sometimes there is nothing. I noticed a couple weeks or so ago that now even the lightest of my packages (a small specimen in a small jewelry box in a padded envelope – only a bit over 2 ounces total) now costs a minimum of $8.10 to send “Ground Advantage”. Sending this EXACT package by priority is closer to $17 (!!!!). Obviously, it is better to use a small flat-rate box for most things these days (around $12). For things that are not light or small and won’t even fit in a small Priority flat-rate box I’ll probably need to custom quote the shipping.
OVERSEAS:
US: It seems that shipping rates are going endlessly these days. Sometimes there is an excuse “holiday rush pricing” (that started in October and never did drop back down). Sometimes there is nothing. I noticed a couple weeks or so ago that now even the lightest of my packages (a small specimen in a small jewelry box in a padded envelope – only a bit over 2 ounces total) now costs a minimum of $8.10 to send “Ground Advantage”. Sending this EXACT package by priority is closer to $17 (!!!!). Obviously, it is better to use a small flat-rate box for most things these days (around $12). For things that are not light or small and won’t even fit in a small Priority flat-rate box I’ll probably need to custom quote the shipping.
OVERSEAS:
NOTE- AS OF APRIL 26, 2026 THE USPS IS ICREASING PARCEL/POSTAL RATES BY 6-8% IN ADDITION TO THE QUOTE BELOW.
It has been some time since I have sent anything out of the US. With all the hassles and paperwork these days, that us something of a blessing. At this point, anything going overseas, I will need to look up shipping costs. However, the last packages I sent out of the US were about $17 for my basic small/ cheap specimen in a padded envelope to Canada and around $25 going to Europe. For small priority flat-rate boxes I think it was around $30 to Canada and around $45 to Europe.
It has been some time since I have sent anything out of the US. With all the hassles and paperwork these days, that us something of a blessing. At this point, anything going overseas, I will need to look up shipping costs. However, the last packages I sent out of the US were about $17 for my basic small/ cheap specimen in a padded envelope to Canada and around $25 going to Europe. For small priority flat-rate boxes I think it was around $30 to Canada and around $45 to Europe.
