Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale- List 232

Blaine Reed Meteorites for Sale- List 232

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

LIST 232

November 19, 2019

Dear collectors,

I have had a little time to look into, learn a little more about the changes to yahoo groups. It seems that is will not be quite as devastating to me (in how I generally use this venue anyway) as I was first led to believe. I will indeed be loosing the archives (so don’t expect to be able to go to the group archives if you received a list, deleted it and then decided you wanted to have another look at it). I also will not be able to put photos for those interested to go to the group photos to see. All archives will be removed (deleted) soon and no new “uploaded” content (photos and such) has already been blocked I believe. So, it seems that I can use this pretty much as I always have – for sending out a mass e-mail offering to those that have signed up for it but that is all. Those of you that directly receive my yahoo groups postings will now have to contact me (brmeteorites@yahoo.com) and have me send the associated photo(s) back as an attachment to a “reply” e-mail. As for any kind of archives (that also include photos), a friend (Dirk Ross) has been posting these e-mail offerings (along with the associated photos) and posting them at blaine-reed-meteorites.blogspot.com for many years now. This site contains pretty much all the posts (the meteorite offering ones anyway, not some of the ramblings/musings on other issues I’ve occasionally sent out) as well as associated photos. So, lost an offering or want to see a particular offering’s photo(s) –you should be able to go to the blogspot and find it there. Anyway, I’ll try to keep everyone notified as I learn more about the changes.

Here is an offering of things that I picked up more than a couple months ago at the Denver show. I have been so busy with things (and I leave yet again on the 29th and will be gone – really gone, as in out of the country – until December 12th) that I simply have not had time to do these offerings. These items are all Michael Casper labeled pieces and are set up displayed in riker mounts with their labels (I have a group photo but, as mentioned above, you will have to contact me directly to ask for it). Some interesting and hard to come by these days items here (and some not so hard) but they are all quasi-historic as Michael was one of the bigger dealers years ago and has long since moved onto other things.

NOTE: Shipping on these is going to be a bit higher (around $5 or $6 for a single item for basic US) as these, being in glass fronted display boxes, will have to be shipped packed in boxes. None of my usual jewelry boxes in a padded envelope for these pieces.

Click on image to Enlarge.

CHINGA, Russia: Iron. Ni-rich ataxite (IVB anomalous). Found 1913. Tkw = 300+kg.
This is a nice rectangular part slice that has two cut edges and two natural edges (the shorter sides are the natural edges). This has a simple polished face as, being an ataxite, it wouldn’t show much of anything if someone did take the time to etch it.
31.6gram part slice – 38mm x 18mm x 6mm - $65

COLE CREEK, Nebraska: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Found 1991. Tkw = 16.3kg.
I don’t recall having a lot of contact with this meteorite. I may have had a piece here or there over time but really don’t recall much about it. This is a roughly square-shaped piece that has one natural, weathered fusion crust edge. The side that is up in the display has been polished but this seems to have darkened it quite a bit and made the chondrules hard to see (they show up quite nicely on the unpolished back side).
31.1 gram part slice – 40mm x 34mm x 8mm - $90

EAGLE, Nebraska: Enstatite chondrite (EL6). Found, likely fell 1947. Tkw = 9,242grams.
Now this is one I do remember. It seems that a large fireball was seen in the area this stone was found. That was in October of 1946. This stone was found in 1947. Glenn Huss had managed to finally acquire the thing in the early 1980’s. It had very fresh crust, so it was clear that this stone had not been out in the weather long. The thing finally got cut and studied in 1984. It also showed a very nice fresh interior to match the fresh crust. This cutting work (and some sales) happened right around the time he was retiring, so very little of this got out into the collecting world (and as far as I know, the main portion of this remains locked up with the owners having no intentions of selling any). Glenn let me have some pieces of this on consignment when he finally shut down, but it was not a lot. This piece is kind of a block – a smallish rectangular slice that is quite thick (but then, this thickness is how meteorites were generally cut back then. Museums and research folks preferred thicker pieces). I have not seen a piece of this neat meteorite in a looooong time.
3.9gram block/ part slice – 17mm x 9mm 8mm - $225

HUCKITTA, Australia: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found 1924.
This is a complete slice of a fragment of the oxidized material. It was mostly unpolished (shows some saw marks if you look closely) and not coated. I did not take this to the sander but I may if it does not sell as it is. I did, however, go ahead and spray coat it (not so much to stop rusting that is not going to happen with this anyway, but to bring out the structure as spray coating generally acts like polishing). I kind of wanted to leave it alone as much as possible for now so the specimen weight will match the Casper label that comes with it.
22.0gram complete slice of a fragment – 45mm x 27mm x 6mm - $50

IMILAC, Chile: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found 1822.
This display consists of two of the shocked/ shrapnel specimens that were found around the impact crater. These have the twisted, skeletal metal with shattered, sandy yellow, orange to hints of reddish pink olivines in the recesses. The label on top (the Casper Meteorites one) is for the specimen on the left (7.6g). There is another label underneath the Casper label (but no name or clue who’s it is) for the other specimen but that has it as 9.1g and the specimen is really 8.5g. The prices on these from way back when were quite high. I think the sticker next to the 7.6g one was $100 and the other was $120. I’m selling both (with the labels, riker and all) for midway between these prices.
2 natural shrapnel pieces totaling 16.1grams - $110

POTTER, Nebraska: Ordinary chondrite (L6). Found 1941. Tkw = 261+kg.
It has been quite awhile since I’ve had any Nebraska meteorite and I just realized that I have 3 on this list alone. This display has multiple specimens one large one and 5 smaller slices/ fragments. I know some pieces of Potter like to fall apart on their own (not sure how a meteorite so weathered can do this) and assumed that this is what has happened here. Nope, the large 27.8g piece is an old-style thick slice that has two cut edges and two old weathered crust edges, but no places where pieces have broken off. Looking at the smaller pieces more carefully, it becomes obvious that these came from a much thinner cut slice, not the larger specimen with them. This display has two labels with it. I put the JM DuPont Collection label on top of the Casper label that has the weight as 30.8g (the DuPont label has no weight listed) which is indeed the weight (a hair less actually – I think I saw something around 31.0g on my scale when I did a quick weight check). Not sure if it really goes with this display, but there was also a New England Meteoritical Services label in the collection box and this was the only Potter in the box so that label goes with this as well.
30.8g slices/ fragments. One 27.8g slice (37mm x 33mm x 8mm) and 5 smaller - $100 – DuPont labeled

TATAHOUINE, Tunisia: HED achondrite (Diogenite). Fell June 27, 1931. Tkw = 13.5kg.
This is just weird stuff. The meteorite blew apart low in the atmosphere delivering many generally very small fragments of a mottled bright green with gray streaks meteorite to the ground. Years ago, when Alain Carion went to the fall site and recovered these things for the collecting world (late 1980’s probably?) this was the only known unbrecciated diogenite. I am not so certain that this is not still the case. This is a typical fragment of this strange material. Nothing exciting but interesting none the less. The Casper label has this as 3.6 grams but it really weighs 9according to my scale) 3.7grams.
3.7 gram natural fragment – 18mm x 12mm x 10mm - $45

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 183 - Pena Blanca and more

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 183 - Pena Blanca and more

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

…………………………………………………..LIST 183
December 29, 2015

Dear collectors,
Here is a short offering for the end of the year.

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found October 30, 2005.
I know, the real reported find date for this meteorite is 1882 but this particular piece is an etched slice that was cut from a 69kg all iron individual that was found on the date listed above. The info card with it (which is one I made – this piece was sold be me at some point in the past and now came back as part of a small collection lot) says that this was found on the Allen and Mary Binford farm and gives the precise GPS coordinates for the find spot (so, one could probably visit the hole that this was pulled out of if one was so inclined). This is a typical part slice that is roughly square in shape. It has three cut edges and one natural edge.
74.1 gram etched part slice – 50mm x 50mm x 4mm - $130

PENA BLANCA SPRING, Texas: Enstatite achondrite (Aubrite). Fell August 2, 1946. Tkw = 70.4kg.
This is the famous meteorite that managed to land directly in a small natural pond. The fall was witnessed to some degree by a couple dozen people. A cook at a near by ranch house saw the stone break branches of a tree it passed through and then its impact into the pond. A couple ranch hands driving by the pond in a truck heard a load explosion and then had their truck splashed with water and plant debris. Later work to lower the level of the water in the pond allowed the recovery of several large fragments of this interesting and rare meteorite. These pieces are nice small to medium part slices that all show at least some of the fantastic breccia texture displayed by this meteorite (I personally like the 5.3g piece best myself as it shows a neat slightly darker 20mm x 12mm clast), but they are all nice. I have always loved the look (and rarity) of this stuff. It has been quite a long while since I have had pieces of this beautiful material.
1) Part slices:
a) .79 grams – 14mm x 8mm x 4mm - $65
b) 1.25 grams – 17mm x 8mm x 4mm - $100
c) 2.47 grams – 21mm x 19mm x 3mm - $190
d) 5.30 grams – 26mm x 26mm x 3mm - $400
e) 15.36 grams – 50mm x 33mm x 3.5mm - $1100

SACRAMENTO WASH (005), Arizona. Iron (ungrouped, troilite rich). Found 2004.
I have heard of and seen some pieces of this over the years but I have never had any pieces to sell. This is reported in the bulletin as a separate meteorite but I don’t know if it has ever been fully sorted out if these are really just chunks of iron that separated out from pieces of the Frankonia stone meteorite. This metal is chemically H-type metal (which is the type meteorite Frankonia is which did indeed have some fairly large metal pieces in it). However, attached h-type silicates have not been found attached to these iron pieces and some clearly showed fusion crust (and most pieces have an atmospherically sculpted shape). Regardless, this material is reported as a new/ separate meteorite and very little/ few pieces have been available.
a) .41 gram individual – 15mm x 7mm x 1mm - $20
b) 1.07 gram individual – 9mm x 8mm x 5mm - $40 – this one is in a membrane box and comes with a L. Atkins collection label.

SPRINGWATER, Canada: (Pallasite). Found 1931.
Here is a fantastic, beautiful thin complete slice. This is cut thin enough that many of the crystals pass light (not so easy to get in this meteorite due to its generally smaller olivine crystal size). This piece has NOT been through the “special rust treatment” I mentioned on the small pieces listed earlier. This is partly because to do so would risk having the thing break apart in the process but mostly because this piece has shown itself over the past 3.5 years or so to be stable on its own already. It was stored/ displayed with out any special care in a fairly humid environment (West Virginia) and has held up beautifully. Another really neat feature of this large slice is that its Ferringtonite inclusions, a VERY rare magnesium Phosphate mineral that seems to be only known from meteorites. One is bright, obvious and is about 10mm x 30mm. There are several others that are darker near the edges of the slice. A few other pallasites are noted for having some of this mineral discovered in them but Springwater has by far the best and is the “type locality” for the stuff. I know a few mineral collectors who would probably like me to break this thing apart so they can add a piece of this odd mineral to their collections. I have pictures of this piece in the computer ready to send to those interested.
a) 306.4 gram complete slice – 280mm x 150mm x 2mm - $5500 – has several Ferrigtonite inclusions.

TOLUCA, Mexico: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1776.
This is a bag of fragments of both oxide and metal (more metal than oxide I think). Some of the larger pieces (thumb-nail sized plus) are metal and have a polished and etched face.
14.5 grams of metal and oxide fragments - $7

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 178 and Denver show info 2015

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 178 and Denver show info 2015

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

…………………………………………………..LIST 178

September 2, 2015

Dear collectors,

Here is a small offering (that was supposed to go out yesterday but I took a bit too long on the mountain gathering mushrooms that “morning”) that I am mostly doing so I can also send out information on the Denver show that is far too close around the corner.

I will be gone from home from the morning of September 10th until probably around Wednesday the 23rd. The show itself opens on Sunday the 13th. For this year (more notes on this below) I will be in my usual room: 224 at what is now the RAMADA plaza (4849 Bannock St.). I will be setting up on Saturday the 12th and there is a chance that I might be open on Saturday afternoon (assuming they haven’t re-modeled the room yet again requiring me to spend time hunting down odd sized tables to borrow). I will be open the rest of the days (Sunday the 13th through Sunday the 20th) at 10AM. I will be open in the evenings at least until around 9pm to 10pm (depending upon if people are actually still visiting/ wandering the halls). I don’t know if I’ll be closing early on Friday (the 18th) this year. The place where COMETS used to hold their auction/ social event is no longer available so I think the event may have been canceled this year (but please do your own research to be sure I am not wrong on this). I also fear though that there is a chance that this might end up being my last Denver show for a bit as well. The hotel has gotten new owners and it seems those new owners either don’t want the hassle of shows in their hotel or have gotten greedy to the point that no one can afford it any more. The spring show (which is in the same hotel) that I enjoyed because it was the one show I got to wander around and goof-off as a buyer, has been canceled as no show agreement could be reached for future years. IF this happens to the fall show as well, I suspect that it would take quite some time and maneuvering to find a spot in a different venue (God, I REALLY don’t want to do a coliseum type show – no chance for after hours visiting and such).

Anyway, on to the offering:

ALBIN, Wyoming. (Pallasite). Found 1915. Tkw = 40+ kilograms.
Here are a couple pieces that are clearly left over from research work at some point (likely long ago). They are slices that are set in a block of resin with one side highly polished for research work. The resin block on the larger piece had a corner broken off but the slice is undamaged. Both show a very nice mix of metal and angular olivine crystals (of widely varying sizes).
a) slice in resin – 20mm x 15mm x 3mm - $40
b) slice in resin – 28mm x 16mm x 7mm - $100

ALLENDE, Mexico: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3). Fell February 8, 1969.
Here is a small assortment of pieces I got from an old research collection. All pieces are very fresh but only the largest (the end piece) has crust. The crust on this piece covers probably 85 to 90% of the back side (just the usual edge/ corner chips).
a) two fragments (largest 12mm x 9mm x 4mm) - .8 grams - $12
b) 7.9 gram fragment (fresh but no crust) – 18mm x 16mm x 16mm - $100
c) 21.0 gram end piece with nice crust – 27mm x 22mm x 18mm - $250

CAPE YORK, Greenland: Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1818.
This is a nicely etched elongate bar specimen. Three edges are definitely cut with the fourth likely being a break along an inclusion (as opposed to a genuine exterior edge). For a time some years (10 plus?) this stuff was fairly easy to come by. I have seen very little of this meteorite available in recent times though.
6.13 gram etched slice – 25mm x 10mm x 3mm -$40

DIMMITT, Texas: (H3.7). Found 1942, recognized 1950.
This is a small complete slice I sold the previous owner back in December of 1993. About 2/3 of the natural edge is weathered fusion crust with the remainder appearing to be an old natural break. I think that this piece was cut from a stone that is a bit less weathered than most. The interior is lighter brown than most I have seen. There is also a fair amount of metal and troilite still clearly visible as well.
9.0 gram complete slice – 47mm x 16mm x 3mm - $30

ST. MICHEL, Finland: (L6). Fell July 12, 1910. Tkw = 16.45 kilograms.
I have had a number of specimens of this over the past few years, but this is probably the largest (or close to it). This is a long rectangular part slice (with two cut edges and two (the shorter sides) looking to be natural. This piece is really shows a nice breccia texture. It has lots of lighter colored rounded fragments from tiny up to 25mm in size. The areas between are dark shocked) gray.
21.0 gram part slice – 55mm x 22mm x 5mm - $400

SIKHOTE-ALIN, Russia: Coarsest octahedrite (IIAB). Ell February 12, 1947.
This is natural shrapnel fragment that the previous owner bought from Robert Haag back in 1991 (unfortunately, it didn’t come with the original R.H. label). I suspect that he paid a pretty high price for it. Back then, Sikhote-Alin was very hard to come by (so much so that Alain Carion featured a piece on the cover of his first book). It first came available for around $10/g or so (for shrapnel – which was all that was available). As the supply increased, the price dropped to around $3/g for awhile (eventually dropping far lower when the flood gates really opened up some years later). I suspect that it was around this $3/g that was paid or this piece. Anyway, it is a nice piece that shows a distinct shrapnel texture.
21.2 gram natural shrapnel piece – 35mm x 16mm x 15mm - $20

SPRINGWATER, Canada: (Pallasite). Found 1931. Tkw = 68+ kilograms.
I know a lot of pieces have been found in recent years but this piece is clearly from the first recovered specimen. It has the typical old museum style thick cut style (not the thin – see through olivine most collectors demand these days. Those while pretty can be hard to keep intact long term if not stored and handled very carefully). One side of this slice is polished and the other is etched. I spray coated this piece as it had nothing (but the bag it was in) protecting it before.
15.9 gram slice – 25mm x 23mm x 7mm - $250

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 150 - yet more after Tucson stuff

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 150 - yet more after Tucson stuff

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 150
March 18, 2014

Dear Collectors,

Here is yet another “after Tucson” list.

CHINGA, Russia: Ni-rich ataxite. (IVB) anomalous. Found 1913. Tkw = 80+ kilograms.
This is a nice solid (no rust scaling) end piece I picked up as part of a small collection during the show. The cut face is simply polished, not etched (this doesn’t show much when etched anyway). A nice piece for display.
196.2 gram end piece – 55mm x 28mm x 40mm - $300

FRANCONIA, Arizona: (H5). Found October 31, 2002. Tkw = 100+ kilograms.
This meteorite is interesting in that small grains of native copper have been found in cut pieces. I have not had a lot of this material over the years even though quite a lot of it was found (not sure any more is turning up these days either). I think most who found pieces kept them. Anyway, I was able to trade for a few nice complete individuals at the show. These are all distinctly complete and are covered with fusion crust, though that crust is a thin secondary crust in some areas on most of these stones. Nice small pieces.
a) 16.3 gram individual – 28mm x 18mm x 16mm - $25
b) 32.8 gram individual – 30mm x 30mm x 19mm - $50
c) 47.8 gram individual – 37mm x 30mm x 20mm - $70

NWA (unstudied): Oriented individual.
Now here is a bit of a crime. This is a quite fresh chondrite (likely L5 or L6) that was very clearly perfectly oriented. Much of the crust is brown on the front side but it clearly shows a line where it changes to black that shows how this was sitting in the ground when it was found. The front shows nice flow lines and a number of elongated “flower petal” thumb-prints. The back side (which is mostly black with some minor dirt attached – this has not been cleaned at all) shows rough textured bubbly in spots crust. There is also a very distinct bubbly roll-over rim around the edge of this piece. The “crime” is that somebody chopped off one side of this specimen (kind of like Lafayette). This does allow you to see the white interior and how surprisingly thick the fusion crust is on this stone (around 1mm thick or so). The bigger “crime” though is that the piece that was cut off was not kept with this beauty. None the less, this is a classic example of an oriented meteorite.
265.8 gram oriented ½+ individual – 85mm x 50mm x 33mm - $400

NWA (2932): Stony-iron (Mesosiderite). Found 2005. Tkw = around 15 kilograms.
This is one I wish I had more of. This is what a mesosiderite should be. This is a slice that is quite fresh and shows lots of metal (some as large round nodules) and lots of silicates (including at least one large cm sized crystal that looks like olivine but is likely pyroxene). A superb specimen for someone looking for a truly representative mesosiderite piece for their collection.
115.6 gram complete slice – 88mm x 55mm x 7mm - $1100

NWA (6963); Martian (Shergottite). Found 2011. Tkw = 8 to 10 kilograms.
This is a part slice that looks surprisingly like the coarse-grained portions of Zagami. The edges though give this one away as a find. There is one tiny (2mm x 2mm perhaps) patch of black crust but the remainder of the natural edge (about half of the specimen’s edge as two sides appear to be cut) shows some minor adhering dirt. This meteorite, like Zagami, also has a lot of Maskelynite glass, some as shock veins, though this piece shows this mostly as the occasional darkened shocked pocket rather than veins. This piece is in a neat Steve Arnold prepared riker display box and is ready for display or passing around to interested friends or lecture attendants.
2.25 gram part slice is riker display – 20mm x 12mm x 4mm - $700

QUIJINGUE, Brazil: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found 1984. Tkw = 59 kilograms.
This meteorite was found buried one meter deep by a farmer digging holes for planting trees. He later gave it to a miner who got it identified as a meteorite. I remember when this came out some years ago. I was worried (as I am with any new pallasites) about this being a “ruster” (and some people may have indeed had problems with this, I don’t know though). However, this piece was uncoated and came from Germany (quite humid) and it looked quite fine to me (only a couple tiny rust spots is all I found). I have coated it though just to be safe. I have two pieces that were from the same slice (I broke it as someone at the show needed a smaller piece and it was clear that it would be easy to snap the piece into several smaller specimens).
a) 5.4 gram part slice – 25mm x 20mm x 3mm - $80
b) 35.9 gram part slice – 63mm x 46mm x 3mm - $525

PHILIPPINITES: Rizal province, Philippines.
Here are a few “Rizalites” I recently picked up from Alan Lang (unfortunately, these did not come with any labels). The smallest and largest pieces here are flatish and have a slightly indented bottom but both show some nice fairly deep grooving on their top sides. The middle sized piece is more the classic large round specimen (as is typical from this area) but lacks grooving to speak of.
a) 47.6 gram individual – 40mm x 40mm x 20mm - $40
b) 111.8 gram individual – 45mm x 43mm x 37mm - $84
c) 121.6 gram individual – 63mm x 53mm x 25mm - $100

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 142, mailed offering

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 142, mailed offering

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………….LIST 142

October 8, 2013

Dear Collectors,

Here is the e-mail version of my mailed list that many of you (and many other collectors) are just now receiving. Some of these things I have had around awhile but many I picked up in Denver at the show a few weeks ago (usually I have most of this “after Denver” offering already typed up in the computer before I leave for the show). Most of the items on this offering are small or quite cheap (or both). Some of these things (like the Agoudal) that was all that was available and others (like The Jbilet CM2) that was all I could get (the larger pieces of this were quite a bit higher price per gram, rare in meteorites, and sold out at the show rapidly none the less).

AGOUDAL, Morocco: Iron, coarsest octahedrite (IIAB). Found 2000. Tkw = over 100 kilograms.
This was a “new thing” in Tucson this year (at a much higher priced). The first pieces found were sold to tourists and it wasn’t until late 2012 that a dealer got one and recognized it as a meteorite. A (successful) recovery campaign soon followed. Most of the pieces are quite small (as are mine) have a shrapnel shape and are heat recrystallized, leading many to speculate that there might be an impact crater associated with their fall. Shattercones have been found in the area but it is not currently known if they are associated with these meteorites. These pieces have been lightly/ moderately brushed but are natural otherwise.
1) Lightly brushed natural fragments:
a) 6.0 grams - 20mm x 10mm x 5mm - $12
b) 13.1 grams - 34mm x 17mm x 6mm - $25
c) 25.0 grams - 32mm x 18mm x 14mm - $48
d) 52.3 grams - 40mm x 23mm x 18mm - $100
e) 82.7 grams - 35mm x 35mm x 15mm - $150
f) 126.5 grams - 55mm x30mm x 22mm - $220 – my largest and only this size.

NWA (7017): Ordinary chondrite (L6). Found before September 2011. Tkw = about 20 kilograms.
I bought two pieces that totaled nearly 5kg in Denver during the 2011 show. The next Tucson show, the same dealer brought me another 15kg piece. The pieces all fit together, so I KNOW they were indeed all the same meteorite. Unfortunately, I was not able to come up with the money to buy the other 15 kilos (it was priced as a fresh meteorite as this is). Probably a good thing though. This has really nice thumb-printing, nice dark crust (though shows some wind-polishing) and a really fresh nearly white interior. If I had pieced the whole thing back together, I’d probably end up keeping it. Anyway, a museum in North Carolina landed the 15 kilo piece for their display.
1) Slices:
a) 9.9 grams - 28mm x 25mm x 5mm - $15
b) 20.5 grams - 47mm x 35mm x 5mm - $30
c) 32.1 grams - 70mm x 35mm x 4mm - $45
d) 72.3 grams - 85mm x 55mm x 5mm - $105
2) Natural fragment:
3768 grams – 150mm x 150mm x 90mm - $2400 – around 50% crusted. Nice display specimen.

NWA (7901): Ordinary chondrite (H6). Found before February 2013. Tkw = 1962 grams.
This was a stone I picked up for a customer that wanted a stone that showed nice slightly weathered crust (chocolate brown but still showing proper crust texture, not wind polished). This fit the bill, but they changed their minds on it (or found something to fit their need somewhere else while I was in Tucson). A small broken area showed a crystalline look to it so I cut a piece off and had it run to be sure I wasn’t about to sell of an E or such (I just figured out how to tell a cut H from a Winonnaite or Acapulcoite thankfully but I have not figured out the H versus E yet). Anyway, this is a nice stone that has crust covering around 70% of it. The remainder is natural fracture and a 45mm x 35mm cut where the research specimen was removed.
1924.7 gram main mass - 120mm x 120mm x 75mm - $1250

NWA (6135), Ordinary chondrite (LL3.8). Found 2008. Tkw = 3.8 kilograms.
This is something I got from Matt Morgan a few years ago, set aside and then pretty much forgot about it. I finally re-discovered it and cataloged it. Most of this is just really nice LL3, showing lots of chondrules and clasts (having the appearance of a much lower type number than 3.8). A few rare pieces have larger or more interesting clasts. The largest pieces here are such specimens. The 120g one has a roughly 17mm x 15mm obvious clast of a different LL type (looks like LL5). The 121 gram piece is more subtle. It has a number of small (cm size or so) LL5 clasts BUT it also has about 6 or so small (couple mm) black carbonaceous looking clasts.
1) Slices:
a) 5.3 grams - 24mm x 22mm x 3mm - $37
b) 8.9 grams - 30mm x 30mm x 3mm - $62
c) 15.7 grams - 40mm x 35mm x 4mm - $105
d) 30.6 grams - 45mm x 40mm x 6mm - $180
e) 64.5 grams - 75mm x 55mm x 6mm - $375
f) 120.3 grams - 105mm x 60mm x 5mm - $725 – complete slice with LL5 inclusion.
g) 121.1 grams - 105mm x 65mm x 6mm - $725 – complete slice with carbon inclusions.

JBILET WINSELWAN, Morocco/ Western Sahara: Carbonaceous (CM2). Found May 24, 2013. Tkw = about 6 kg.
I think that this is the first (CM2) I have had from any desert region. These are usually fragile enough that they don’t withstand a lot of weathering. These pieces though indicate that this probably did not fall all that long before its recovery. Many have some light wind polishing but many also still show patches of fresh undamaged fusion crust and have a fresh looking black color overall. This is a very new discovery (having been recovered this past summer) so I have not seen any scientific papers on it yet, but I am certain it will contain the organics, amino acids and such that other CM2 meteorites contain. These are all broken fragments that are as found, except that I did my best to clean what dirt they had off of them with distilled water and a tooth brush. I got mostly small pieces, unfortunately. So I have very few of the larger items listed here.
1) Natural fragments:
a) .50 grams - 11mm x 8mm x 4mm - $18
b) .80 grams - 13mm x 10mm x 5mm - $25
c) 1.03 grams - 15mm x 10mm x 6mm - $31
d) 1.34 grams - 16mm x 10mm x 7mm - $40
e) 1.91 grams - 23mm x 11mm x 6mm - $57
f) 2.60 grams - 17mm x 11mm x 10mm - $78
g) 5.15 grams - 20mm x 13mm x 12mm – sold, trying to get more “large” pieces.

NWA (1877): Diogenite, olivine rich. Found 2003. Tkw = 934 grams.
I think these are now officially “Diogenite, Harzburgite”. The classification system for these changed recently (Dunites are now Diogenite with a sub-description of “dunitic”). It is believed that this material has an origin from very deep in Vesta (however, I had one researcher tell me recently that the spacecraft that orbited Vesta a year or so ago did not see any olivine so there is still some slight uncertainty as to the origin of these things and dunites). This type material is fairly uncommon and these “pieces” are surprisingly cheap. I got these from a friend who deals mostly in fossils but has some meteorites. This material is quite friable (crumbles easily) so he set up these samples as small glass vials with 2.5 grams of fragments and crumbs.
1) 2.5 grams of fragments in a glass vial - $30.00

JEPARA, Indonesia: Stony-iron (Pallasite). Ound May 2008. Tkw = 499.5 kilograms.
A single nearly spherical boulder was found. The nickel-iron had oxidized completely to a mix of magnetite and nickel sulfides and sulfates. However, the olivine (which made up some 64% of the stone) was left very fresh and clear. Many pieces are bright green and very clear and being of faceting quality. It is it these olivine grains I am offering. Some have some rust staining but most are bright and fresh. Some of these certainly could be faceted although only into small stones (the pieces I have are a couple millimeters to maybe 5 or 6mm in size). I do have a couple small pieces where the olivine is still in the magnetite matrix available, but I mostly got the loose olivine crystals because they were so eye catching.
1) 1.5 grams of loose olivine crystals in glass vial – $15.00

CHINESE TEKTITES:
I know these are really common but these pieces are uncommonly large. They are simple flattened disks but they were so large and I was able to hand pick the pieces I wanted at a “typical” price. Usually, the sellers make you buy a 10 or 20kg flat full just to get a few large pieces among the usual sized ones or charge an exorbitant price for these large ones when selling by the piece. There weren’t many, unfortunately, but I bought these at a regular price and am selling these at my usual Chinese Tektite show price. Only the largest carries a bit of a premium.
1) Natural individuals:
a) 143.8 grams - 62mm x 58mm x 25mm - $30
b) 196.2 grams - 65mm x 62mm x 30mm - $40
c) 247.2 grams - 68mm x 65mm x 35mm - $50
d) 304.1 grams – 75mm x 70mm x 35mm - $90

Please note:
The post office drastically increased most shipping rates. For small US orders $3 should still be fine. Larger orders are now $12 (insurance is extra if desired – I’ll look it up if you want it). The real increases came in overseas (or even Canada) shipping. These prices pretty much doubled from what they were before. Now small overseas orders are around $9 (I’ll have to custom quote any larger items/ orders). Thankfully, it seems that the rate for registration (recommended on more valuable overseas orders) is still $12 (for now).
My fax machine has pretty much blown up on me. I can nurse it to work if I must (but often loose the incoming fax if I am not really careful). For overseas orders, it probably is best to go ahead and use my brmeteorites@yahoo.com e-mail. I generally get/ deal with phone calls quicker but I will try to keep up on checking e-mail this time.

Blaine Reed Meteorites- List 138 - WE WON! (this round)

Blaine Reed Meteorites- List 138 - WE WON! (this round)

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
(970) 874-1487
…………………………………………LIST 138

June 25, 2013

Dear Collectors,

I almost had to title this " the even higher cost of justice?" or "selling things to raise bail money".

I have not done much business wise since April (aside from the Colorado Springs Show) as I have been somewhat tied up with an ugly issue that has now, thankfully, been resolved (for now anyway).

You see, I (as well as Blake and Linda) received my/ our very first lawsuit in early May. It was Mr. Curry of Montrose retaliating for our participation in the criminal summons/ trial for his selling fake "plessitic" iron material in Grand Junction. That trial was back last October and he was found guilty on three counts. I am due something around $765 in restitution as part of his sentence from that conviction. About the time we expected that this money should be coming in (he had 6 months to complete his sentence) rather than a check, we received a huge pile of papers from him (delivered by our local sheriff's office) that constituted a "Civil and Criminal Lawsuit". This "complaint" was 55 pages long, was accompanied by another 80 pages or so of "evidence" and demanded our arrests for all kinds of crimes from fraud, criminal impersonation, using a credit instrument while committing a felony (Linda using her credit card to buy the fake rock from the store that was selling them. Not sure how Curry thinks that that constitutes a crime other than the fact he doesn't like what I did with the specimen after the purchase), conspiracy, terrorism, treason and on and on. He demanded $300million in compensation, saying that this was the "lost value" on the specimens of his I have personally analyzed and said are fake. He also demanded that some 55 criminal charges be filed against us by the Montrose District Attorney's office.

Needless to say, this shook us up quite a bit. I really thought that his already being found guilty of the crime of selling fake material in criminal court would have protected me from this kind of thing in civil court. I guess not. It seems that you can file anything you want, saying any made up things you want and the court system (at least in Montrose) will accept and process it as a valid lawsuit. Most of this "complaint" was about the criminal trial in Grand Junction and the events that led up to it. However, this "complaint" had the added spice of supposed conspiracy amongst all of us meteorite people (for "not letting him sell his material") and "terrorism" for having ever bought, owned or sold an NWA meteorite (Curry got his hands on some ridiculous "paper" stating that ALL NWA meteorites are from Algeria and ALL money spent on them goes directly into the hands of anti-American terrorists. I think the people that wrote this little piece of trash have already been sued, successfully, for authoring it).

Not having a clue what to do, I spent 30 some hours typing a "response" to this nightmare for the court. I assumed that this would make the problem go away once all of this was reviewed by a judge. Unfortunately, the court clerk informed me when I turned it in that it might be some time (and many troubles) before a judge lays a hand on any of it.

Luckily, I soon accidentally bumped into a retired civil court lawyer. Actually, I called him up to chew him out and ask why he would talk with a "journalist" that obviously had an axe to grind against meteorite the meteorite dealer and collector community. You see, one of Curry's pieces of "evidence" being used against me (along with the above mentioned NWA paper) was an article by a woman online journalist that pretty much took the same view we saw in a recent New York article (where the claim was made that we are supposedly all smugglers and thieves and the researchers loose valuable info and material because of us). The person I called was Eric Twelker (The Meteorite Market) in Juneau, Alaska. He said he remembered talking with this "author", and answering her questions. He did say however that he had no clue of her real agenda or angle she was taking with her story at the time (I generally will not talk to members of the media unless I know just what their angle is as it seems fairly rare that journalists are really simply trying to get to the truth of a situation and not trying to dig up supporting data for an already decided side of it. Not sure what the overall truth is but this has been my experience over the years anyway, unfortunately). Anyway, I explained my situation and he said he would have a look at the paperwork we were hit with. Despite our consternation over the situation, Eric was quite certain that he could make it all go away in fairly short order.

Over the years I have seen Eric at the various Tucson and Denver shows. He would pop into my room for a few minutes, look around (and maybe buy the occasional specimen) and then leave never to return during that show. He was a man of very few words. However, I learned that those few words say a LOT. I found that he was able to say in a few small sentences the exact things I would probably take 3 pages to cover (he could probably shorten this whole post to one 4 or 5 sentence paragraph and still get the whole points across. Simply amazing).

Anyway, we worked together to put in a "Motion to dismiss or change venue to Grand Junction" (where the bulk of this lawsuit's complaints derived from). This should have forced a judge to get on this quickly (can't dismiss something until they have looked it all over). I relaxed a bit at that point assuming that it was now simply a matter of sitting and waiting.

Unfortunately, this is NOT entirely how things worked out. While I was in Colorado Springs, we got "served" with more papers, very dangerous papers. This was a subpoena demanding I deliver to the court and Curry at noon on June 25th (today): certified education records (showing I do have a geology degree and such), my passport, ALL international travel records since 1994, ALL communications and records whether electronic (phone or e-mail) or personal contacts since January 1, 2010 with (and then goes on to list pretty much every researcher, institution, dealer and many collectors in the field of meteorites as well as pretty much all law enforcement agencies I have ever worked with and more), All of my customer and dealer contacts including their addresses, phone numbers and e-mails, My income tax returns back 7 years, ALL records of sales, purchases or trades involving NWA meteorites and more!!!

Blake had e-mailed a copy of this up to Eric. Eric quickly said that this was an illegal action on several levels when I called him from Colorado Springs and said not to worry about it. This is easier said than done though and I was left with a less than fully pleasant mood for the show that weekend, unfortunately.

Once I got back home, I called the Montrose court clerk early the next morning. The person I reached was cold and harsh. They supposedly looked up this subpoena and said that it was a legal court clerk issued subpoena and that I will comply or be held in contempt of court. Commenting that we suspected that this was illegal just angered this person. I then commented that there was no way I could pull all of this data together (nor would I. There is no way I was going to give that delusional lunartic all of my customer's information so he could endlessly harass them for having committed the "crime" of ever buying or owning an NWA meteorite) in the time allowed. I was told I could request an extension but the court would not have to allow it. So, while I was contemplating my options, all of which were either dangerous or distasteful (show up and only give a few papers that might actually apply to a civil suit, not show up at all both risking going to jail for contempt or give Curry and the court as much of what they asked for as I could gather) Eric was putting together more motions for me to review and file with the court. One was to remove this blatantly illegal subpoena and the other was for an immediate review of the entire lawsuit for either dismissal or venue change, as we had to have one or the other before the "subpoenaed document deadline" today.

Luckily, these worked like a charm. I filed these on June 12th. On Monday (the 17th) we got a letter from a judge! These motions did indeed finally get one fully involved. It said that they were NOT going to allow the motion for a quick review/ decision on dismissal or venue change (but promised they would look into the case quickly none the less). However, it said that they would indeed throw out the illegal subpoena! (even the judge made comment that it was illegal and should never have been issued). It also had the stipulation that any future subpoenas from Curry would have to go in front of a judge for approval before they would be processed (ouch, that's quite a reprimand/ setback. I wonder what kind of butt chewing the clerk that helped him on that first one is getting now).

That left things hanging a bit and, consequently, a fair amount of concern as to what I/ we might yet ultimately face from Curry's filing of this garbage. Might a judge decide that if there is THAT much smoke there must be some fire somewhere and hit us with some kind of charges for good measure? Might I really have to pay a bunch of money because I called some river cobbles and scrap iron for what they were?

Anyway, we got our answer on the 20th (I have been out of town since, I JUST got home minutes ago). It seems the poor judge that had to deal with all of this (reading over 100 pages of Curry's stuff and a further 30 or so of my response) was completely honest when he said he would review it all soon in the note that eliminated the documents subpoena. This new note basically says that Curry's 55 pages of complaint does not legally show Curry is entitled to any relief (money) at all, among other dings against his outlandish claims. The net result: motion to dismiss is GRANTED. This whole ugly thing goes in the wastebasket of history.

Unfortunately, it does not eliminate the possibility that nutcase will simply file more "complaints" against me. Heck, he has tried to file over 32 fraud complaints against me with the Montrose Sheriff's office, a half dozen or so with the Delta Sheriff's office and an unknown number with the Delta city police – all of which were simply tossed out. Hopefully, any future "complaints" can be dealt with as easily (and less stressfully) as this one. A huge ($300 million) thanks to Eric Twelker!

Now on to a few items for sale:

ALBIN (imilac?), Wyoming. (Pallasite). Found 1915. Tkw = about 126 pounds.
I labeled this as possible Imilac as that is what Matt thinks it could be. Frankly, I do have to agree with him on first glance. Texturally, this does look a lot like a piece of Imilac. It does have angular crystals but nothing as angular as those that the 43 pound piece of Albin I had years ago showed. However, there is good evidence that this is indeed a piece of Albin. First, it has a pretty good pedigree. It came from Ann Black to Patrick Herman to Matt. Secondly, a conversation recently with someone that has seen slices from the pieces of Albin that Bud Eisler turned up with a few years after I got my piece clearly mentioned that they had a texture much more like Imilac BUT their crystals were much darker than Imilac (which these indeed are). I had never seen any cut pieces of Bud's stones so I had no idea of this textural difference (my piece did have the darker crystals matching the color of this piece but it had a lot more olivine in a greater size range). I can tell this piece was likely cut early in the days of wire saws as it is a bit wavy (not perfectly flat). I was told that this also tends to support the idea that this is an Eisler Albin (again, I have never seen a slice of one of his pieces, but I have talked with someone that has on this). Regardless, this is a nice COMPLETE slice of pallasite that we are pricing at (or even a bit cheaper than) what it would be for an Imilac, though I do indeed believe it is an Albin.
59.8 gram complete slice – 70mm x 50mm x 4mm - $900

CANYON DIABLO, Arizona: Coarse octahedrite (IAB).
This is a nice sculpted thin "rim specimen" that came with the David New material I had a few months ago. Unfortunately, this one did not have a label for some reason. None the less, it is a nice well brushed individual of this famous and now hard to buy meteorite.
230.5 gram brushed individual – 85mm x 40mm x 20mm - $160

CHERGACH, Mali: (H5). Fell July 2007. Tkw = about 100 kilograms.
This is a nice ½ individual. Most of this is covered by a fairly thin (typical for this fall) primary crust. This, interestingly, shows obvious bright shiny metal blebs scattered throughout the dark slate gray crust. There are some areas showing contraction cracks as well. The "break" on this is actually a slickenside surface that likely broke late in the fall.
42.6 gram ½ individual – 30mm x 30mm x 20mm - $170

DAVY (a), Texas: (L4). Found 1940. Tkw = 50.6 kilograms.
Here are a couple pieces that come with TCU Monig labels. One is a complete slice and the other is an end piece. Interestingly, these are both fairly large and surprisingly solid pieces for this meteorite and are about the same weight.
a) 94.4 gram end piece – 85mm x 42mm x 18mm - $140
b) 96.1 gram complete slice – 90mm x 65mm x 5mm - $145

GIBEON, Namibia. Fine octahedrite (IVA). Found 1836.
This is a nice moderately brushed complete individual. It has some soft sculpting (it has a large indent on one side) but is not an art piece. However, it does stand up to display nicely on its own. It has been brushed but only to the point where some of the original brown still shows. A nice but not exceptional fill your hand display piece.
1657 gram complete individual – 120mm x 85mm x 40mm - $1000

HOLBROOK, Arizona: (L/LL6). Fell July 19,1912.
Here are a few nice little complete individuals. I think that these are relatively recent recoveries as they do show some weathering effects. Though they do have some minor rust spotting they all show lots of nice black crust. These are in "as found" condition and still have some of the local soil I deeper recesses.
a) .30 gram individual – 8mm x 6mm x 3mm - $10
b) .40 gram individual – 7mm x 6mm x 5mm - $13
c) .72 gram individual – 12mm x 7mm x 5mm - $20
d) 1.0 gram individual – 15mm x 8mm x 5mm - $25

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 134 - more after Tucson stuff 14MAR2013

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 134 - more after Tucson stuff

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 134
March 14, 2013

Dear Collectors,

Here is another offering of things I brought back from the show. I am sending this out at an odd early time as I will, once again, be leaving town for awhile. I don't plan on leaving until the 20th or 21st but that would only leave me one or two days, at most, to take and pack orders if I waited until the proper time to send this out (which would have been the 19th). I am not certain exactly how long I will be gone (helping out my uncle in Phoenix), but should be back sometime around April 3rd (I'll try to have the date, once I have a better handle on it, left on my answering machine).

ALLENDE, Mexico: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3.2). Fell February 8, 1969.
I got this in a bag with a card that said Allende or Murchison. Unfortunately, it is definitely just Allende. This is a cut fragment (kind of a ½ end piece/ bookend cut) that is quite fresh. It does have some crust – about a 25mm x 10mm area. Nothing exciting but I do have to say that all Allende I have offered the past couple years has sold quickly.
10.6 gram cut fragment – 35mm x 14mm x 12mm - $90

DAR al GANI (476), Libya: Martian (shergottite). Found 1998. Tkw = 2015 grams.
This is a nice little end piece of this well known Mars rock (and likely rare as such). It shows the classic dark olivine crystals in a mixed light and dark green matrix.
.73 gram end piece - 13mm x 8mm x 5mm - $500

DIMMITT, Texas: Ordinary chondrite (H3.7). Found 1947. Tkw = 147 kilograms.
This is a really nice end piece of this interesting meteorite. It is fairly thin so it has a good surface area. The back is much better than average for Dimmitt. This has very nice distinct (weathered) fusion crust covering most of it. There are some areas of secondary crust/ late break but not much. Best of all though, this is a Monig specimen and comes with a TCU Monig Collection label.
105.6 gram end piece – 70mm x 55mm x12mm - $200

D'ORBIGNY, Argentina: Achondrite (angrite). Found 1979. Tkw = 16.55 kilograms.
Here is a nice small lot that would be great for resale. It has three larger pieces that are around 7mm in size and a capsule that contains pieces around 2mm to 4mm size. Total weight is just under .8grams. This has got to be the weirdest meteorite in existence. From the textures of these pieces, I would never guess that this was a meteorite. Rare and interesting.
.79 grams of fragments - $230

HUCKITTA, Australia: Stony-iron (pallasite). Found 1924.
Here is a rare one. This is NOT the usual oxidized material but a nice small end piece that is fresh! This has a couple dark olivines as are usual in Huckitta but the metal is bright and fresh. Years ago a handful of these small fresh Huckittas came out. I am not aware of any further pieces turning up since.
2.6 gram end piece – 15mm x 10mm x 5mm - $100 – fresh metal.

KATOL, India: Stone. (primitive achondrite). Fell May 22, 2012. Tkw = about 10 kilograms.
These samples are from a larger piece that I broke up using my chisel press. This material is SUPER FRESH (looks like it was probably picked up minutes after the fall) and I did not want to risk contaminating it in any way by attempting to cut it. All but the smallest piece has some fusion crust. The mid-sized pieces have secondary crust and the larger have really nice areas of primary crust. The largest piece even has scuffs/ skid marks from where it hit the ground. This, to my knowledge, has not been classified yet, so I'll have to make some "provisional" information cards to go with these pieces. It is clear on inspection though, that it is some kind of primitive achondrite (complete metamorphosed chondrite) but its color and texture don't match any others (acapulcoite, winonaite, lodranite, etc.). Really nice and strange stuff!
1) Fragments:
a) 1.31 grams – 10mm x 8mm x 7mm - $110
b) 2.59 grams – 15mm x 10mm x 7mm - $210 – 11mm x 5mm secondary crust patch.
c) 3.73 grams – 16mm x 13mm x 9mm - $290 – 12mm x 12mm secondary crust.
d) 10.7 grams – 22mm x 22mm x 8mm - $770 – 22mm x 20mm primary crust.
e) 23.1 grams – 32mm x 20mm x 20mm - $1500 – around 40% primary crusted.

PLAINVIEW (a), Texas: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Found 1917, may have fallen spring 1903.
Here is a complete slice of this always popular material. This meteorite is technically a find but there was a large piece (25 pounds) that was found in a horse pen the day after a fireball was witnessed in the area in 1903. The type and texture of that piece matches the other Plainview (a) stones (I have had actual pieces in the past that were cut from that specimen). This slice was cut from a piece that was somewhat fragmented and found later. This shows distinct fusion crust along about 1/3 of its edge with the remainder being thin secondary crust or natural breaks. This particular piece is different/ special in that it seems to have a large (roughly 30mm x 25mm) darker inclusion on one end that looks like it might be an impact melt zone.
69.9 gram complete slice – 80mm x 35mm x 8mm - $280

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 132 15JAN2013

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 132 15JAN2013

Blaine Reed

P.O. Box 1141

Delta, CO 81416

Ph/fax (970) 874-1487                                                                                                                                           

………………………………………………………..LIST 132

 January 15, 2013

Dear Collectors,

                Happy New Year!  Here is the E_ mail version of my mailed list that is just now getting into the hands of those I sent them to.

Show info: I will be gone from home from about January 29^th until about February 19^th.  I will be at my usual show location: Ramada Limited, room 134. This is at St Marys and the interstate (next to Denny's) - just 1/4 mile or so due West of Inn Suites (Now called Hotel Tucson City Center - where many of the other meteorite dealers are). My room is about mid-way down the length of the motel (right next to the walk through actually) on the west- side of the building (on the parking lot side - and there is often parking available right in front of my room). I should be open the afternoon of February 2nd through the afternoon of February 14^th  (NOTE: the show officially runs through Feb 16^th but I may leave a couple days early. PLEASE let me know if you plan on visiting later than that so I can be sure to stick around). I will be open every day in between - generally from 10AM until  - ? (usually at least 7pm if I am going out to eat and often until 10pm or so other nights).

DEPORT, Texas: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1926. Tkw = over 15kilograms.

Here are a few (and only a few) of the special pieces of this meteorite that were written about in a recent Meteorite magazine (August 2012 issue). These pieces belonged to Oscar Monig and are among the very first meteorites he acquired. It has become apparent that Monig labeled these in the early tradition of Nininger where the number represented the meteorite locality (in order of acquisition into the collection) and the letters giving the order of the specimens as they were acquired (A being the first, B the second and so on). These fantastic pieces were the discovery pieces that showed Monig had done this numbering/ cataloging system in his early days. These all have a number 1 (thus his first cataloged meteorite locality) and then letter(s) metal stamped into them on a flat ground off spot. These were sold to me as Odessas a few years ago, but this discovery (and working with Dr. Ehlmann at TCU who discovered their “Monig’s first meteorite” is a Deport specimen that has a punched label of 1B on it) clearly showed that these were really Deports. I had very few of these special labeled specimens and even less now (3 total remaining) of these historic specimens. These are all rusty brown (natural) and have nice sculpted shape.

1) Natural specimens with Monig metal punched catalog number:

a) 80.0grams (1L) - 40mm x 35mm x 15mm - $450

b) 184.7 grams (1F) - 52mm x 40mm x 20mm - $950 – particularly nice sculpting.

c) 261.3 grams (1V) - 70mm x 37mm x 70mm - $1300

NWA (7196): Ordinary chondrite (LL6). Found before January 2012. Tkw = 384.6 grams.

Here is a bit of an interesting item. I got this from Matt Morgan who picked it up in Tucson last year. He cut it into nice thin slices to sell but then ended up trading the lot to me. We both were very certain that this was either an LL3 or LL4 as it seems to show a lot of chondrules. Research work says it is a completely unexpected LL6! I had it looked at twice to be certain. Sure enough, it has very tight Fa and Fs numbers on the olivine and pyroxene so it is indeed highly equilibrated. Looking closely at a slice of this you can see that many of the “chondrules” may really be more of rounded breccia clasts (there are indeed larger cm sized light gray clasts with rounded edges visible in this material). All but the smallest size listed are complete slices.

1)       Slices (most are complete slices):

a) 4.0 grams - 20mm x 20mm x 3mm - $20

b) 7.0 grams - 40mm x 25mm x 2mm - $35 – complete slice.

c) 10.7 grams - 55mm x 26mm x 2mm - $50 – complete slice.

d) 16.9 grams - 65mm x 32mm x 3mm - $78 – complete slice.

NWA (7336): Ordinary chondrite (L6), S3, W3. Found before February 2012. Tkw = 18 kilograms.

I got a sack of chondrite last Tucson that contained one large fragment and a bunch of small pieces. Some of these pieces fit together and what little cutting I have done on a few of the small pieces showed it was the same material. I had the big piece professionally cut and polished and am offering one part of it here (I may keep the other for a nice moderately weathered L display piece). I will be offering small cut pieces of this material in the future once it warms up enough to actually do some cutting (has been lows of -10°F and highs in the teens to low 20s the past month). Anyway, this is a nice display specimen that stands up vertically on its own. It shows lots of somewhat oxidized metal (more gray metallic than fully shiny) in a mottled tan and brown matrix. I wanted to offer this now as I will take it to Tucson and (reasonably likely) sell it there.

                4913 gram end piece/ cut fragment – 240mm x 200mm x 60mm - $2000

TULIA (A), Texas: Ordinary chondrite (H5). Found 1917. Tkw = 78+ kilograms.

Like the Deports above, these have an early Monig cataloging number on them. In this case these are white paint on a black background. These are all #12 so Tulia was Monig’s 12^th meteorite locality cataloged into his collection. Each has further letters representing the order in which they were found/ acquired by Monig as well. I had quite a few similarly labeled specimens years ago but only have these three pieces remaining, now that we know what the numbers mean and their importance. Oscar Monig seems to have labeled very few meteorites in his collection this way. These pieces also have an

“M.#” label put on them by Glenn and Margaret Huss when they cataloged Monig’s collection in the 1980’s. These are all weathered natural fragments as found (some areas of crust still visible).

1) Natural fragments as found with early Monig labeling.

            a)  268.1 grams (12JM and M12.32) – 90mm x 50mm x 30mm - $470

            b)  338.1 grams (12IY and M12.35) – 75mm x 52mm x 35mm - $570

c)       397.5 grams (12V and M12.7) – 70mm x 65mm x 45mm - sold

NWA (7043): Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3), W1. Found before September 2011. Tkw = 166grams.

I got a small bag of fragments at the Denver show a little over a year ago. Cutting showed that it was likely a CV3. However, it has a slightly different look to it than I am used to. This looks somewhat like a CK in that it has hard dark chondrules in a fairly abundant lighter (greenish gray) matrix. Yet it also has (in some pieces) a fair amount of metal in and surrounding the chondrules like a CR. The classification report did not say, but I suspect that this is a “reduced” CV chondrite where as Allende and NWA 2086 are the “oxidized” variety I believe.

1)       Cut fragments:

a) 1.2 grams - 15mm x 11mm x 3mm - $18

b) 2.0 grams - 17mm x 13mm x 3mm - $30

c) 4.0 grams - 22mm x 18mm x 5mm - $56

d) 5.7 grams - 35mm x 14mm x 6mm - $80

e) 7.2 grams - 40mm x 15mm x 8mm - $100

NWA (4852): (Ureilite). Found before September 2007. Tkw = 1073.7 grams.

A single stone, broken in two was sold at the 2007 Denver Show. I got the bigger piece and I believe Ann Black got the smaller as it was put in the COMETS auction that year which I, unfortunately, did not get to attend (to busy in my room). I managed to talk Mike Martinez into cutting this stuff for me (a job I hate with this type meteorite – they take hours per slice and tear up saw blades, thanks to the diamonds and carbides in them). I got to spend many hours ripping up diamond sandpaper disks putting a polish on this stuff though. I get very few achondrites anymore (this is my last new one at this point) as the “out of the field” price on them is pretty much what I would want to be selling finished slices for per gram these days. I finally re-discovered this material while doing inventory work in late December. The large pieces are nice complete slices.

1) Slices:

                a) .94 grams - 15mm x 13mm x 2mm - $25

                b) 1.86 grams - 18mm x 13mm x 2.5mm - $55

                c) 4.2 grams - 25mm x 12mm x 4mm - $103

                d) 8.0 grams - 40mm x 20mm x 3.5mm - $200

                e) 20.1 grams - 40mm x 40mm x 4mm - $450

                f) 50.6 grams - 63mm x 60mm x 4mm - $1050 – complete slice.

                g) 61.6 grams - 72mm x 64mm x 4mm - $1250 – complete slice.

NWA (7045): Stony-iron (Pallasite). Found before September 2011. Tkw = 1127 grams.

I got a bag of small fragments of this “new pallasite” from a Moroccan dealer at the Denver Show. I knew it was oxidized, so there were no surprises there when I cut it. Frankly, this stuff would be close to impossible to sort from Huckitta if one accidentally mixed bags of each. However, the crystals in this material, on average, look much more like fresher olivine (more yellow orange) than those in Huckitta. Regardless, here are end pieces of a cheap pallasite guaranteed not to rust!

1)       Cut fragments:

a) 3.4 grams - 17mm x 14mm x 7mm - $10

b) 6.7 grams - 23mm x 22mm x 9mm - $20

c) 9.2 grams - 26mm x 20mm x 9mm - $27

d) 20.1 grams - 35mm x 25mm x 12mm - $60

e) 35.6 grams - 42mm x 30mm x 15mm - $105

METEORITE TRADING CARDS:

I have had these sitting in a corner of my office for a couple years now. These are the 2011 “Inaugural edition”. They are pretty much the same as sports cards or such but for meteorites. They have a picture of meteorite(s) from the locality on one side (most actually have photos on both sides - the NWA (869) ones came from me) and info about the locality on the other. There are 10 cards in a set (actually 11 if you count the cover card). I don’t know if there were any other series (years) done of these.

                2011 Inaugural Edition pack of 10 meteorite cards - $5

Please include postage: $3 dollars on small U.S. orders and $11 on large items for first class (insurance is extra, if desired). On small overseas orders, $5 is generally plenty (I'll have to custom figure the rate for large items). Registration is also recommended on more valuable overseas shipments - an extra $12.00.

                If you are sending a fax, simply begin transmitting when my line is answered. My fax will turn on automatically to receive (or I will start it if I answer) when you begin transmitting. Or use brmeteorites@yahoo.com, but calls generally get to me faster (I don’t live on the computer and constantly check e-mail as some do).

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 130 - small rare bits 1

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 130

December 4, 2012

Dear Collectors,

Here is a small assortment of some interesting things I received recently from an old research collection. There are many things in this collection that I have not cataloged fully yet. Regardless, I am already seeing a bunch of names of things (all really small, good for the micro collectors) that I have never seen or had before. The next couple offerings will likely be things pulled from this collection lot as I catalog them (though I may run an "inventory clearance" offering next time. I am currently working on that grueling task. I have not come across a lot of last one or two pieces of an item things yet – the things I'd probably want to get rid of so I don't have to do all the inventory work on them for taxes – but that may change).

ABEE, Canada: (EH4) impact melt breccia. Fell June 9, 1952. Tkw = 107kg.
This is a nice cut fragment that has a nice 12mm x 7mm patch of fusion crust. This had a thin coating of light rust on it so I hand sanded it to show fresh metal and breccia texture on its cut faces (and stunk up the kitchen in the process. One of the interesting features of most enstatite chondrites is that they stink of sulfur really bad when sanded).
1.95 gram cut fragment – 20mm x 7mm x 7mm - $120

ALLENDE, Mexico: (CV3.2). Fell February 8, 1969.
This is a "black inclusion" that was originally set aside to be thin-sectioned (and it may very well have had a layer cut off for this purpose). This, texturally, looks very much like a CM2 meteorite but the color is a bit lighter. I left this in the bottle I got it in which has a label that says " Allende black inclusion, a piece for thin section 1/24/74, 1.122g.
1.12 gram slice – 10mm x 8mm x 4mm - $15

AOUELLOUL GLASS, Mauritania.
A 250 meter diameter crater was discovered with a small amount of highly silicious glass around it. This glass contains iron and nickel, showing its impact origin. It is estimated that the impact occurred about 3.3 million years ago. These are 3 small pieces that have been sawn for research work and are in the plastic tube I received them in.
1.3 grams 3 pieces - $7

ARRIBA, Colorado: (L5), brecciated. Found 1936. Tkw = 31.1kg.
These piece are both "raw cut" unsanded. I left them as I got them. However, the back side of both is really nice in that they have very nice obvious weathered fusion crust (not badly weathered either. The crust is a nice mix of dark gray and chocolate brown). These are really nice little end pieces and likely very rare as such.
2.2 gram end piece – 18mm x 9mm x 6mm - $20

NEW CONCORD, Ohio: (L6) veined. Fell May 1, 1860. Tkw = 226.8kg.
Here is a US historic classic. I have not had any of this in quite awhile. I remember something about a rumor that a horse was supposedly killed in the fall of this meteorite but don't recall where I heard that.
2.3 gram slice – 17mm x 9mm x 4mm - $45
3.4 gram slice – 22mm x 9mm x 5mm - $65
5.0 gram slice – 40mm x 9mm x 4mm - $95

ORGUIEL, France: (CI1). Fell May 14, 1864. Tkw = 10.5+kg.
I sold a fair amount of this material when I offered it on a list recently. This piece is special in that it is still in the little plastic disk container that a researcher received decades ago (likely directly from the Paris Museum). I have priced this pretty much at the same price per gram (possibly even a hair less) that I had my "regular" material listed at.
.37grams of crumbs in Paris museum container - $700

PANTAR, Philippines: (H5). Fell June 16, 1938. Tkw = 10.3kg (?)
I put a question mark on the total known. This 10.3kg is what Meteorites A to Z reports but I could only come up with about 1600 grams in museum collections (according to the Catalog of Meteorites). Even the Meteoritical Bulletin has the total on this as 2.1kg. It was reported that 16 fairly small stones were recovered from this fall. However, a note was made that "thousands the size of corn and rice grains fell on roofs in the area". Perhaps a big load of these were recently recovered, but I certainly have not ever seen any of this fall available before.
.02 grams fragments/ crumbs in capsule - $15
.03 grams fragments in a capsule - $25
.11g fragment – 7mm x 5mm x 2mm - $80

WALTERS, Oklahoma: (L6). Fell July 28, 1946. Tkw = 28kg.
This is a meteorite that looks like there are only a couple kilos that has made it out of research collections, according to the numbers in the Catalog of Meteorites. These aren't much, but maybe all that is available of this fall at this point in time.
.20 gram fragments in capsule - $20
.7 gram cut fragment – 15mm x 5mm x 3mm - $50

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 121 My rarest dollar and misc meteorites

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 121 My rarest dollar and misc meteorites

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 121

May 22, 2012

Dear Collectors,

I had to get back from the eclipse trip earlier than I had expected. It turns out that I had a big heating/cooling system job that got scheduled for starting today (or I could wait another few weeks for the next available time with the installers. With temperatures already hitting the 90's and soon to be 100's I want this system running as soon as possible). There is already a five foot deep trench across my driveway (barely had time to get my cars on the other side before they started digging this morning.

The eclipse was quite enjoyable. It was not the jaw dropping spectacle that a full eclipse is but it was still pretty cool to see the sun turn into a thin ring of light. It was really surprising how few people knew (or cared) what was going on. I guess they were all in a hurry to get back home to their bread and circuses.

As with the last list, there are quite a few specimens here that are Lang collection origin and labeled. There are also some that are TCU/ Monig collection labeled and some are Mike Farmer labeled. I'll make note of these in their descriptions.

CAMEL DONGA, Australia: Achondrite (Eucrite). Found 1984. Tkw = 30+kg.
Here are a few small pieces I picked up in Tucson and promptly forgot about. The "end piece" is highly polished and has a nice interior texture but no crust on the back side. The other 2 pieces are partial individuals that have around 50% or so crust coverage. These are somewhat weathered so I suspect that they are relatively recent recoveries but they do still flow lines and some shiny crust.
a) 2.7 gram end piece – 20mm x 11mm x 9mm - $40
b) 3.5 gram ½ stone – 20mm x 12mm x 10mm - $55
c) 4.7 gram ~ ½ stone – 21mm x 14mm x 11mm - $75

DAR al GANI (332), Libya: Carbonaceous (CO3). Found 1997. Tkw = 280 grams.
This is undoubtedly another piece (and my last one I believe) of the large number of DaG (CO3) meteorites that got many different numbers assigned to them but (many anyway) were likely from a strewn field formed during a single fall even long ago. This is an unpolished complete slice (and has a lighter color and more visible chondrules than the polished pieces I had earlier). This is in a Riker box and has a Lang Collection label.
26.8 gram complete slice – 48mm x 37mm x 6mm (a bit wedged actually) - $240

DAR al GANI (429),, Libya: Carbonaceous. (C3), ungrouped. Found 1998. Tkw = 253grams.
I really suspect that the total on this is really closer to 800grams as DaG (430) is also an ungrouped C3 meteorite. These are rare enough (I have only had a few over all the years) that I would really be surprised if these two were not paired. This is a Lang Collection labeled vial of fragments (small up to around 5mm x 10mm in size) in a glass bottle in a Riker mount. This looks very fresh as it is very light gray in color and the largest fragment has a small sanded area that shows lots of metal. Interesting and no doubt rare.
5.1 grams of fragments in vial - $175

NWA (801): Carbonaceous (CR2). Found 2001. Tkw = 5kg+.
This has always been one of my favorite meteorites texturally. This piece does not show quite as well as some as it has been highly polished. Polishing has made this a little darker overall but closer inspection reveals lots of metal hiding in this slice. Most of it is surrounding chondrules (lots of armored chondrules in this) but some is as round blebs or metal "chondrules" (I have seen them called such in some research work). This piece is in a nice plastic box and has a Michael Farmer label.
4.47 gram complete slice – 35mm x 17mm x 3mm - $100

NWA (1939): Achondrite (Howardite). Found 2003. Tkw = 100.4 grams.
At first glance, I thought that this was likely just another piece of the NWA (1929) howardite (probably the most commonly available NWA howardite, listed under many different numbers) with a miss-typed label. Closer inspection shows that this is very likely NOT the case. The natural edge (this is a complete slice) shows a texture and weathering rim different from any NWA (1929) pieces I have seen. More importantly, the internal texture is very different form NWA (1929). This has a similar light gray background matrix but the inclusions in this are far different. One roughly 1cm sized inclusion is really interesting. It is an almost microscopic mix of white and orange brown crystals – looking much like a shrunk down piece of Dhofar (007). This is in a plastic box and has a Michael Farmer label.
8.48 gram complete slice – 45mm x 27mm x 2mm - $150

NWA (2871): Achondrite (Lodranite). Found 2003. Tkw = 2.5kg.
This was originally classified as an Acapulcoite and was supposed to be switched to Lodranite due to its large grain size (slower cooling, deeper buried in their shared parent body). I have seen a note or paper on this (by Ted Bunch I believe). Unfortunately, it seems that this has not been officially changed in the Meteoritical Bulletin yet. This is a triangular shaped part slice that has one cut edge. It is a Lang Collection piece that is in a Riker mount and has the Lang label. The original price on this was $1345 and even that was not on the high end of prices I have seen on this material. I have a few pieces of this in my inventory but nothing nearly this large or nice.
16.4 gram slice – 40mm x 30mm x 3mm - $985

ROUND TOP (b), Texas: (H4). Found before 1939. Tkw = 7166 grams.
This is a stone that Oscar Monig turned up and these all come with a Monig Collection label. I have only a few pieces of this.
1) Slices; all have natural edges/ no cuts.
a) 4.8 grams – 35mm x 12mm x 4mm - $15
b) 8.0 grams – 35mm x 19mm x 4mm - $24
c) 11.1 grams – 40mm x 17mm x 5mm - $33

SaU (290), Oman: Carbonaceous (CH3). Found 2004. Tkw = 1.796kg.
Thanks to the Sutter's Mill fall in California (believed, at this point, to be some kind of odd carbonaceous chondrite), I have had collectors asking about other weird carbonaceous chondrites I have (the reason I am "re-listing" this now. I offered pieces on an e-mail offering a couple years ago). This does not look like much – some sparse fine metal grains in a dark brown matrix. But, this is only the second CH I have seen and the only one I have had to sell.
1) Slices:
a) .57 grams – 8mm x 7mm x 3mm - $60
b) .73 grams – 11mm x 7mm x 3mm - $75
c) 6.40 grams – 32mm x 25mm x 3mm - $690

SEYMCHAN, Russia: Stony-iron. (Pallasite). Found 1967.
This is a wonderful little end piece from a really pallasitic piece of this find and very rare as such. I have only seen a couple end pieces of this and they have all been quite large (I have 6.7kg one myself). Even better, this is really thin so you get the surface area of a slice but in the form of an end piece. This is definitely a piece that collectors of end pieces should consider.
25.1 gram end piece – 50mm x 40mm x 5mm - $200

1853 PROOF SILVER DOLLAR (US): Mintage – about 12 pieces.
This is, by far, the single most expensive coin I have ever owned. However it is also, by far, the rarest US coin I have ever owned (I have a few foreign coins that have slightly lower supposed mintage numbers). This is technically a "restrike" as the mint did not make any proof dollars in the actual year of 1853 (coin collecting was not at all an in thing then, there were virtually no collectors at that point). This was made a bit later – probably around 1862. At that point coin collecting in the US was beginning to take off and collectors began to notice that they needed an 1853 proof dollar to fill a hole in their collection. The mint director was only happy to oblige (often using such later made pieces to trade for "Washington Medals" to fill in holes in his collection of those). There are no clear records of exactly how many were made of these. Interestingly, proof coins in that era were not considered to be actual coins (money-wise anyway, but they were preferred by collectors) and did not have to be accounted for in mint records. There were some records thought that indicated that only "dozen" of these pieces were struck (and the number of pieces known of this coin do supports this). I have had a few people (potential buyers) complain that this is kind of not valid as it is a "restrike" (even after being told how and why this coin came into existence). However, this was indeed made at the Philadelphia mint, under direction of the mint director, using full mint equipment so this would really be better termed a "Novodel" – a term often used for the more famous 1804 dollars. Those super famous pieces which are worth, thanks to that fame, between $2 million and $4 million apiece now are actually a tiny bit more common than this coin (15 known versus around 12) all had their origin in later years as restrikes for collectors just as this coin did.
1853 PCGS slabbed Proof 55 silver dollar - $13,000

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 118 - more after Tucson stuff

Blaine Reed Meteorites -  List 118 - more after Tucson stuff

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
………………………………………………………LIST 118

March 9, 2011

Dear Collectors,

Here is a quasi "emergency" list. I was out of town last Tuesday and will be out of town yet again next Tuesday (until the 17th). So, I made the decision to send out an offering now, while I still had a couple days left to pack and ship orders. Blake is out of town until tomorrow as well, so any needed photos my not be able to out until Saturday evening or Sunday (but I will keep the specimens on hold until you get a chance to see a photo if you really are serious about wanting it (I get a lot of "just curios to see what it looks like requests that I sometimes can't oblige quickly) to – even I that means waiting until I get back on Friday).

DAR al GANI (303), Libya: carbonaceous (CO3). Found 1997. Tkw = 365 grams.
I remember back when CO3s first started coming out of Libya. It was not long after that I learned that the finders were putting new numbers on every piece they were recovering (a thought initially "wow, I had only one CO3 before (Colony, OK), now I have 5 or 6 new ones in a couple months!"). Looking more carefully though, I started to realize what was going on. Looking carefully at this piece though it seems that there is a fairly good chance that it is NOT part of that series of CO3s. This has lots of chondrules in a nearly black matrix (the others were more medium brown in color from what I recall). This also still shows some pretty nice fusion crust along about half of the edge (which has one 32mm long cut and the rest being natural). This is a thick slice but comes in a Riker mount and has a Lang label. This could easily be cut into several thinner slices.
21.5 gram slice – 32mm x 21mm x 10mm - $215

DAR al GANI (472), Libya: (LL6). Found 1998. Tkw = 422 grams.
This is a part slice that has one cut edge that is about 40mm long. The remaining edges are natural exterior (mostly the typical wind-polished desert texture, no distinct crust). The interior is a mottled light tan to medium brown and shows numerous fine shock veins. This is in a Riker mount and has a Lang label. Probably a very hard to come by specimen these days.
18.3 gram slice – 47mm x 27mm x 5mm - $100

DHOFAR (007), Oman; achondrite (Eucrite). Found 1999. Tkw = 21.27 kilograms.
This is a nice complete slice of this strange material. Most of it is a nice "salt and pepper" texture (like much of the Millbillillie) BUT it is un diffierent colors – a mix of greenish brown and snow-white instead of black and white. About ¼ of the slice has a nice brecciated texture to it. This is the biggest surface area piece I have ever had of this material (I am tempted to hang on to it for myself if it does not sell here). It is believed that this is not from Vesta, as most eucrites are, but more likely from the mesosidserite parent-body.
69.2 gram complete slice – 107mm x 65mm x 4.5mm - $800

DHOFAR (132), Oman: achondrite (Ureilite). Ound March 18, 2000. Tkw = 5kilograms.
Here are a couple thick slices of this rare stone (this is the first I have had this particular meteorite even though there was a substantial amount recovered). I would guess that, like many ureilites, this has silicon carbides and/ or diamonds in it and was very hard to cut (not really wanting to try and split these in half myself. I made that mistake a few years ago when I had a different NWA ureilite that I obtained in similarly thick slices. It took over 2 hours per square inch (plus a number of saw blades) to split the stuff. It left my fingers numb (the pieces had to be hand-held for cutting) for many weeks afterwards as well). These, however, have been nicely polished (certainly not an easy job to do with most ureilites), are displayed in Riker mounts and have a Lang collection label.
a) 3.1 gram slice – 19mm x 8mm x 6mm - $85
b) 5.2 gram slice – 20mm x 15mm x 6mm - $140

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa: (Mesosiderite). Fell May 10, 1879. Tkw = 318+ kilograms.
I have two pieces of this really nice mesosiderite. Both look pretty much identical when only one side is viewed (as is normal as these are in Riker boxes). The back sides of these though are a bit rough (the lighter a bit less so and the larger is wedged – hence the lower price per gram). Whoever cut these originally did not know what they were doing or were trying to (mistakenly) use a saw that was too small for the job. Regardless, the visible (as displayed) polished side of each is really nice with a really good even amounts mix of metal and silicates.
a)) 126 gram lice – 140mm x 97mm x 3mm - $2500
b) 245 gram slice – 140 x 100 x 5 - $3500

SOMERVELLE COUNTY, Texas: (Pallasite). Found 1919. Tkw = 11.8 kilograms.
This is actually a nice end piece that could probably have several nice slices taken off o the front yet (if one was careful. The cut face shows several nice crystals in fresh metal. The back is a bit shrapnel like, but clearly shows lots of fresh quite large and fairly gemmy crystals. I am really surprised that this did not sell at the show (but then it was in a display case that was stuffed full of material)
54.4 gram end piece – 28mm x 25mm x 20mm - $750

TISSINT, Morocco: Martian (Shergottite). Fell July 18, 2011. Tkw = over 7 kilograms.
Here are a couple pieces of the one that has been in the news a lot lately (came out right before the show. Unfortunately for us dealers this had the effect of pulling a LOT of money out of the buyer's pockets before we could offer our stuff to them at the show). These are nice fragments (no crust, unfortunately) in nice plastic display boxes that have a picture of the fall area. These are taped shut (with the label that has their weight), so I have had to do a rough guess on their thickness measurement (the last number).
a) .21 gram fragment – 7mm x 6mm x 4mm - $145
b) .28 gram fragment – 8mm x 6.5mm x 4mm - $195

WILLAMETTE, Oregon: Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1902. Tkw = 14.1 tones.
Here are a couple thin slices of this super famous and controversial iron. It seems that the controversy (of the native Americans in the find area claiming ownership and demanding its return) has only made this material more famous and valuable. I am REALLY reluctant to offer any iron in the hundreds (!) of dollars per gram pricing. But, I did sell several pieces in a big hurry when I put them out on display at the show.
a) .93 gram slice – 11mm x 7mm x 1.5mm - $190
b) 6.181 gram slice – 34mm x 19mm x 1.5mm - $1250 – about 2/3 edge is natural!

Blaine Reed Meteorites - Tucson Show 2012

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

Dear Collectors,

Show info: I will be gone from home from about January 25th until about February 15th. I will be at my usual show location: Ramada Limited, room 134. This is at St Marys and the interstate (next to Denny's) - just 1/4 mile or so due West of Inn Suites (Now called Hotel Tucson City Center - where many of the other meteorite dealers are). My room is about mid-way down the length of the motel (right next to the walk through actually) on the west- side of the building (on the parking lot side - and there is often parking available right in front of my room). I should be open the afternoon of January 28th through the afternoon of February 11th. I will be open every day in between - generally from 10AM until - ? (usually at least 7pm if I am going out to eat and often until 10pm or so other nights). Hope to see you there. Bring lots of cash and buy.  Thanks!

Blaine

Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 116

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………LIST 116

January 2012

Dear Collectors,
Happy New Year! Here is the e-mail version of my "what's new" mailed list. Do make note of the "gone" dates below and try to contact me before January 20th if you want anything here (this will allow for packing/ shipping time and such).

Show info: I will be gone from home from about January 25th until about February 15th. I will be at my usual show location: Ramada Limited, room 134. This is at St Marys and the interstate (next to Denny's) - just 1/4 mile or so due West of Inn Suites (Now called Hotel Tucson City Center - where many of the other meteorite dealers are). My room is about mid-way down the length of the motel (right next to the walk through actually) on the west- side of the building (on the parking lot side - and there is often parking available right in front of my room). I should be open the afternoon of January 28th through the afternoon of February 11th. I will be open every day in between - generally from 10AM until - ? (usually at least 7pm if I am going out to eat and often until 10pm or so other nights).

APACHE JUNCTION, Arizona: Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found before 2005. Tkw = 25 kilograms.
I just got a few (5) pieces of this really nice new meteorite. It was purchased by Dr.Carelton Moore from a seller who claimed to have found it near the intersection of McKellips Rd and Ironwood Dr in the city of Apache Junction years earlier. Dr Moore ended up purchasing this iron, despite having the fear that it might really be a "transported" Canyon Diablo. Later cutting and etching revealed a vibrant medium octahedrite structure and quickly removed all doubt concerning its new find status. The main mass is bound for the ASU collection at this point and only 2 more pieces are available to me beyond these listed (so don't wait if you want a piece of this).
1) Etched slices:
a) 19.3 grams - 33mm x 18mm x 4mm - $135
b) 53.5 grams - 65mm x 22mm x 4mm - $360
c) 102.7 grams - 100mm x 64mm x 3mm - $650 – complete slice with 10mm+ natural hole.
d) 208.9 grams - 120mm x 80mm x 4mm - $1200 – complete slice.

GOLD BASIN, Arizona: (L4). Found November 1995. Tkw = 127+ kilograms.
This is the famous material that was often (in the early days) found perched next to shallow holes where a gold prospector left it as a "hot rock" in disappointment that it was not a gold nugget. These pieces came from a rare large piece of this meteorite. I only learned after I cut it up that this was quite unusual for its size. I guess this means though, that now collectors have the chance to own an unusually large slice of this famous meteorite. These pieces are quite fresh and show a good number of sometimes large chondrules in a light tan to brown matrix (I sent off a piece for a quick micro-probe check to be sure that this was not Arizona's first LL5, as this does look quite similar to Tuxtuac in many respects).
1) Slices:
a) 6.1 grams - 30mm x 15mm x 4mm - $10
b) 11.8 grams - 35mm x 30mm x 4mm - $18
c) 25.8 grams - 40mm x 40mm x 4mm - $39
d) 54.7 grams - 70mm x 67mm x 4mm - $80
e) 126.0 grams - 100mm x 70mm x 5mm - $190 - nice complete slice.
2) End piece:
a) 260.4 grams - 100mm x 60mm x 16mm - $325

NWA (6579): L, melt rock. Found before July 2005. Tkw = 95 grams.
This is a really nice little slaggy looking rock I bought years ago. I sent some off to Cascadia Meteorite lab, as they were doing work on melt rocks of all sorts at the time and then completely forgot I (or they) had the thing. They kindly let me know recently that the thing was more than done and was fully reported. This has the classic melt rock look – rounded metal grains (many with dendritic inter growths of troilite) in a jade green matrix. This is quite fresh, weathering grade of W2. Obviously, I have VERY little of this material available (60grams perhaps).
1) Slices:
a) .47 grams - 9mm x 8mm x 2mm - $9
b) .80 grams - 12mm x 10mm x 3mm - $14
c) 1.2 grams - 15mm x 10mm x 2.5mm - $21
d) 2.5 grams - 19mm x 10mm x 3mm - $45
e) 5.5 grams - 30mm x 25mm x 2mm - $95
2) End pieces:
a) 11.3 grams - 30mm x 21mm x 8mm - $175
b) 16.3 grams - 30mm x 25mm x 11mm - $250 – main mass.

NWA (7044): Ordinary chondrite (H6). Found before September 2011. Tkw = 1443.4 grams.
This had a small broken corner that showed a very crystalline texture to it (reminding me of a "primitive achondrite"). This was not cheap, but the chance that this something interesting tied with the fact that is pretty much perfectly oriented led me to buying the piece. When I shaved off a slice, it showed a fair amount of really fine metal grains and looked virtually identical to a small piece of a weathered EL6 I had (Yilmia, Australia). I rushed the sample off to get it looked at and the initial reaction was that this was indeed an EL chondrite. Unfortunately, the full work-up showed it to be an H. Thankfully I did not start cutting this up (slices of a W2 enstatite chondrite would be very good for me right now). Anyway, this has been left as a nice shield-shaped oriented individual.
1411.5 gram oriented individual – 125mm x 100mm x 55mm - $1500.00

NWA (7015): Ordinary chondrite (LL4). Found before September 2011. Tkw = 888 grams.
This is a meteorite that I found as two crusted pieces that fit together (to form one large meteorite) in a box of NWA (869). Thanks to Matt, I was able to get this looked at in record time! This, despite its outward appearance (and very low magnetic attraction) of a howardite, turned out to be "just" an LL4. These are actually a bit rarer than LL3s! This is quite fresh, by far the freshest LL4 I have had. The smaller pieces are very light gray in color (nearly white) and the 2 large slices/ end pieces have around 50% or so of the face showing very light orange coloring.
1) Slices:
a) 3.7 grams - 22mm x 12mm x 4mm - $26
b) 5.6 grams - 25mm x 20mm x 4mm - $39
c) 12.3 grams - 40mm x 26mm x 5mm - $85
d) 23.2 grams - 55mm x 53mm x 3mm - $150
e) 59.3 grams - 60mm x 55mm x 3mm - $350 – complete slice.
2) End pieces:
a) 96.8 grams - 60mm x 45mm x 20mm - $530 – around 25% light orange.
b) 138.9 grams - 57mm x 55mm x 20mm - $700 – main mass, nice crust covering back.

MOAPA VALLEY, Nevada: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM1). Found September 2004, Tkw = 698.8 grams.
This may be the rarest, by type, meteorite I have ever offered. There is only around 850 grams of CM1 material currently known in the world (and of that, only one other from outside of Antarctica – the 19gram NWA (4765)). This is like the more famous CM2 material (Murchison probably being the most famous example), but had MUCH more water flow through it on its parent body. This looks pretty much like dark (nearly black) carbon (charcoal brickette like) on fresh cut or broken surfaces. All of the minerals in this have been altered to secondary phases and there are no chondrules present (just some rounded serpentine and sulfur rich inclusions). I have only 7 grams of this and there are no remaining pieces available to me. If the 4g I had offered on an e-mail offering a couple years ago is any guide, this won't last long, so contact me quickly if you want some of this stuff.
1) Fragments/ cut fragments: all in membrane boxes.
a) .072 grams - 5mm x 3mm x 2mm - $70
b) .132 grams - 7mm x 5mm x 3mm - $125
c) .226 grams - 6mm x 5mm x 4mm - $210 – cut fragment.
d) .410 grams – 13mm x 9mm x 3mm - $370
e) .81 grams - 10mm x 8mm x 6mm - $700
f) 1.21 grams - 15mm x 12mm x 5mm - $1030 – small area of crust.
g) 1.72 grams - 16mm x 11mm x 7mm - $1450 – end piece, nice crust on one edge.

BLUE SALT, Carlsbad, New Mexico.
I picked up some samples of this while at the Socorro Mineral Symposium and though that some collectors might like a piece as similar blue salt crystals have been found in some H-chondrites (Zag and Monahans (1998)). These crystals that were found in these meteorites show that water flowed through parts of even the H parent body (where as it was considered to be that water was likely present on only a few carbonaceous parent bodies). Like the Halite (sodium chloride – NaCl) in the meteorites, this halite has turned violet/blue from radiation damage. Radiation causes crystal lattice distortions and the release of sodium metal in the structure. This causes all but the blue and violet wavelengths of light to be absorbed (turning the salt violet and blue in color). The salt in the meteorites was exposed to cosmic radiation. These samples were exposed to radiation from chunks of the mineral Sylvite (potassium chloride or KCl) that has some radioactive potassium in its structure that was deposited near this salt layer.
1) Fragments
a) roughly 7 to 10 grams (about 18mm x 15mm x 15mm) - $10
b) roughly 20 grams (about 28mm x 23mm x 18mm) - $20
c) roughly 50 grams (about 35mm x 30mm x 23mm) - $30

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