Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 135 - an after Phoenix offering 04APR2013
Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 135
April 4, 2013
Dear Collectors,
This was supposed to go out a couple days ago. Unfortunately, a couple days ago I was still in Phoenix. I was gone for nearly two weeks on this trip. I was helping my uncle, who we visit on the way to and from Tucson, finally de-clutter and unload a bunch of stuff (he was not one of those "Hoarders Buried Alive" stars but certainly would have earned an honorable mention). We (Blake, my uncle and I) were successful beyond our wildest dreams. We filled a 40 yard dumpster with obvious garbage (including pretty much the entire house of carpet and pad that had been soiled by his dogs and those of the previous house's owner). We also had a huge yard sale that filled the driveway, back porch and much of the back yard. At the end of the sale we had only a couple small carloads of stuff that ended up being donated. Anyway, huge amount of work but in the end hugely successful but had me finally getting home late last night.
BRENHAM, Kansas: Stony-iron (pallasite). Found 1882.
Here is a beautiful "little" complete slice that has been cut very thin so it passes light through probably 2/3 of the crystals. Though some are a bit dark close to ½ of the crystals in this thing pass light quite brightly. This is probably the last slice from a 351lb piece that was found in 2006. I was told that this was found on a hill side so it did not spend its life soaking in a bunch of ground water. Also, this meteorite was cut using nothing but alcohol (no water based coolants which can leave water behind the crystals to cause a rusting problem later). I have a large slice (2265g – most of the complete slices were more than a couple kilos in size) from this same meteorite, cut the same way. I have had it without any special storage for 2 ½ years now and it looks fine (MAYBE a couple tiny spots of rust if you look really carefully). So, this particular Brenham (cut the same anyway) I trust as being stable.
456.1 gram complete slice – 360mm x 150mm x 2mm - $1600
CAMEL DONGA, Australia: Achondrite (eucrite). Found 1984. Tkw = 30+ kilograms.
This is actually a fairly fresh individual. There are signs of weathering but certainly not to the extent of many I have seen coming out lately. The crust shows a little bit of yellowish or brown tinges in few areas but shows a lot of shininess and flow lines. There is one chipped area (about 10mm x 8mm) showing the light colored interior but this stone is otherwise complete.
13.7 gram individual – 27mm x 21mm x 18mm - $275
DEAKIN (001), Australia: Ordinary chondrite (ungrouped type 3). Found 1978. Tkw = 109.5 grams.
I am at a bit of a loss how to price this one. It might be really interesting and "valuable" to a certain collector out there, but as a somewhat weathered (not horribly though, it still shows plenty of metal) find it might not be of much interest. Not sure how this got out as all of the "total known" material is listed as being in museums (according to the Catalog of Meteorites anyway). I know the previous owner who likely did a museum trade to get it when he was buying up as many odd/ rare meteorites he could get back in the late 1990s. The catalog also mentions that this has affinities to the LL group but the magnetic attraction and small chondrule size (looking much like H type or even smaller) makes me think that this does deserve the "ungrouped" classification. This piece looks like it has weathered crust covering about 40% of the natural exterior. Interesting piece(?)
6.84 gram cut fragment – 20mm x 10mm x 12mm - $240
FOREST (002), Australia: Found 1980. Tkw = 26 kilograms.
This specimen is labeled as I remember it when it first came out (Robert Haag was selling it) – Forest (b). A bunch of different meteorites started showing up from the area so everything was switched to numbers. This was probably a good idea. My Meteorites A to Z shows something like 37 different Forest area meteorites at the time of publication (there may be more now). Definitely would have run out of alphabet there. Anyway, this is nice little cut individual that shows nice brown crust on a 22mm x 20mm area of the natural exterior. The cut and polished face on this is roughly 22mm x 12mm.
10.0 gram cut individual – 25mm x 20mm x 9mm - $40
FORESTBURG (a), Texas: Ordinary chondrite (L4). Found 1957. Tkw = 26.6 kilograms.
Here are a couple pieces I got from the TCU/ Monig collection just before the Tucson Show. Both of these have a TCU, Monig Collection label. One piece is a fairly large (for this stuff) slice that has one cut edge about 45mm long (the remainder is natural with a couple areas showing some weathered crust). The other piece is a large chunk that has two cut faces that make it a bookend (and it is almost large enough for that job). This could easily be cut into more slices or left as is. One of the polished faces on this piece shows a couple interesting large (up to 10mm x 7mm) troilite inclusions.
a) 58.2 gram slice – 73mm x 70mm x 4mm - $115
b) 435.2 gram bookend cut fragment – 70mm x 66mm x 45mm - $600
HOLBROOK, Arizona: Ordinary chondrite (L/LL6). Fell July 19, 1912. Tkw = 400+ kilograms.
This is a nice complete individual. It does have an area (about 13mm x 12mm) that looks chipped but careful inspection with a loupe shows definite fusion crust on the high points of this "chip", so it is really an area of very light secondary crust. The remainder of the stone is covered nice black primary crust. This is a bit after the fall recovery as there is some adhering dirt (I have not attempted to clean this). A nice not so little piece for this fall.
13.0 gram complete individual – 30mm x 18mm x 13mm - $325
JUANCHENGE, China: ordinary chondrite. (H5). Fell February 15, 1997. Tkw = 99+ kilograms.
This is a really nice fresh complete stone that has only a couple small (5mm x 3mm) edge chips. The crust is dark slate gray to black, though there is an area that has a purplish tinge to it (like that found on some Allende). This, amazingly for this fall, shows some flow lines. The shape of the stone, the flow lines and a hint of a roll-over rim shows that this stone was oriented for at least part of its fall.
30.7 gram complete individual – 40mm x 22mm x 20mm - $185
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Thursday, 14 March 2013
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).
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
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
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Blaine Reed Meteorites -List 133 - after Tucson irons 07MAR2013
Blaine Reed Meteorites -List 133 - after Tucson irons
Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 133
March 6, 2013
Dear Collectors,
This is going out a day late as I got stuck in Denver for a day longer than I had planned due to bad weather closing the road I need to take home on Monday (didn't get back until late last night).
Now I'd like to make a few somewhat long- winded comments on some things.
FIRST: This is something that I have already lost many hours of time on the phone with (and more in typing e-mails) and want it to get out as far and wide as possible to reduce this work load. I am NOT going to Russia! I know the excitement of a new fall (and this is an important one) and how everyone can't wait to get a piece of it. However a "simple" trip to Russia to buy some of this material is neither simple nor particularly smart (in my opinion) at this point. The government there is trying to put a lid on people taking this stuff (I have heard rumors of them going after the few E-Bay listings of this material there have been) and I CERTAINLY don't want to be the one caught stepping on their toes (or those of others that may be involved in the money side of this fall) in acquiring this stuff. This sounds like a sure recipe for trouble. Also, the price is definitely going to be the highest right now, with many of the locals thinking this stuff is "more valuable than gold" (I wonder who gave them that silly idea on nightly news and national radio programs). Given this current false hype (and the freshness of the event) the locals are very unlikely to want to sell at anything near a reasonable price right now. Over the years, I have observed the hype and high prices of many new falls (and this hype is certainly deserved for the "freshest" new alien on our planet). What I have seen is that the prices for this new material is pretty much always (over a period of a few years any way – inflation can make pretty much anything go up in price over decades) the highest right after the fall. Almost always, there is eventually enough material to bring the prices down, often substantially once the hype has died down and the "gotta own some now" buyers have been satisfied. So my actions on this fall are boringly as such: As there is obviously a lot of material being found I will probably just sit and wait until things cool down a bit and my usual friends and suppliers from Russia get some of this stuff make it available at reasonable prices. These guys are good at dealing with the "issues" of the area and making things quite cheap. Then I hope to offer nice, affordable pieces. I know many of you worry "buy now or never get any". I do understand this view. There are indeed cases where the material never makes it into collector's hands in substantial enough quantities to bring the prices down (or even satisfy the initial demand), but this is rare. My advice has always been; Buy the smallest piece of a new fall that will keep you from loosing sleep at night over not owning a piece. This way you will have a piece but not be betting the ranch on it. Later, when things settle down, buy a bigger piece (if you still want one). Most likely, the price per gram will be less than it was when the news was fresh. Likely worst case is you might end up paying a similar price as when it was new (I am having real trouble coming up with an example where even this has been the case recently, even Sutter's Mill, Alahatta Sitta and Katol recently have dropped quite a bit from their original prices). Having seen this time and time again over the years (with many specific examples I won't go into here) I really DO NOT want to get tied up in the early high prices (hoping to get a little bit higher prices on the way to cover my expenses) and then end up having everyone who bought a piece from me upset with me if/when the value comes crashing down months later.
SECOND: Many of you sent e-mails expecting responses while I was at the show. Unfortunately, I really do not have e-mail access at the show. I don't even bring a computer – Blake does but he is only in Tucson for a few days at the beginning and end of the show these days. The hotel has wireless but it is very sketchy in my room (works best while sitting on the toilet with one foot in the bathtub). Even if these things weren't an issue, the simple truth of the matter is I simply don't have time to do e-mails during the show. I know, hard to believe but here is the general schedule. I wake at around 7AM, make/ have coffee, take a shower, call home perhaps, set up the room (move/ clean cases, re-stock bins set out new material etc.), have breakfast and then I have 20 minutes maybe to walk around a bit and maybe buy some things from the folks set up at my hotel before I have to get my door open by 10AM (though I often had people pounding on the door asking me to open much earlier many days so I didn't even get this little bit of "break" some days). Then it is all people all day. I generally had the room open until 10PM most nights (but much later some nights if people were hanging out). Then it was take the stuff off the bed, set up clothes and such for the next day and get to bed around 11:30 or midnight if I was lucky. Then wake up the next day and start over (rinse and repeat) for 16 days. I know you may think I should be able to do e-mail while trying to run the room during the day but this is really not the case. The foot traffic was fairly slow but still busy enough that I was never even able to get out of the room for more than (literally) a few minutes before being radioed that some one or something required me to return (I never even had the time to go through a watch and clock magazine I had brought with me, expecting to finish it during "slow times". Nor did I have the chance to go see all of the other dealers and friends at other hotels). Plus, I think it is a bit rude, even bad (show anyway) business perhaps, to ignore people in your room so you can pay more attention to your computer or phone. I know, the world is a different place these days and I, perhaps, need to update my thinking. However, a dinner I had with friends a couple years ago kind of burned this bias into my mind. I had not seen them quite some time (years) but they all spent the entire time playing/ texting with their phones. Hardly a word among us was spoken. Left me kind of feeling "what's the point of this get together?" when it was obvious all anybody really wanted to do is focus not on the people around them but on the world in their phones. So, I do know some of you were not happy that I did not handle the e-mails while gone, but I really honestly do not have the ability or time while at the show. I do try to at least go through them and deal with any critical things right before and right after (as soon as I can borrow a computer) though. However, it takes me nearly a week more before I am home, unpacked caught up and more or less "back in business". I apologize for this, but I really don't see a way around this problem at this point.
Anyway, enough of all of that. Here are a few items (irons this time) that were left with me at the show. Grab them now before they get sent back to the owners.
Enjoy!
BOXHOLE, Australia: Medium Octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1937.
It has been a long time since I have had any piece o this meteorite and I can't recall ever having one this large. The Boxhole's I recall were all few grams to few tens of grams in size. Now here is a nice shaped and sculpted 429 gram individual! Even better yet it has great provenance (important as some Boxhole pieces look so much like Henbury that sometimes you wonder if…..). This comes with a Ron Hartman Meteorite Collection label.
429 gram natural individual – 85mm x 55mm x 20mm - $1300
CAMPO DEL CIELO, Argentina: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1576.
This is a really interesting slice that Darryl Pitt left with me. As you can imagine, it must be aesthetically pleasing if he had it. This was labeled as a "Transitional silicated" piece and that it truly is. About two thirds of the piece is heavily silicated, showing distinct clast texture to the silicates (looking very much like Udei Station or Landes). The other third is pure clean iron. One side of this piece is polished and the other is etched. A really nice and interesting specimen.
99.3 gram silicated complete slice – 100mm x 70mm x 3mm - $450
CANYON DIABLO, Arizona: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1891.
Here is a really interesting shaped "rim specimen". This is a nice sculpted thin individual that has a metallic ring to it when tapped. These sculpted generally thin pieces were found near the edge of the crater. These will not etch if you polish them (I know this from experience). I was told that there delicate shape (and lack of etching) is from them being highly heated during the blast that formed the crater (I think it was Glenn Huss that told me about these). Anyway, this is a really nice natural individual with an interesting thin shallow dish shape.
224.4 gram natural individual – 90mm x 55mm x 10mm - $280 SOLD
GIBEON, Namibia; Fine octahedrite (IVA). Found 1836.
This stuff has gotten surprisingly hard to come by these days. I sold ALL of my small pieces at the show and have people waiting for me to pull out all the rest of my small pieces (I'll be changing my main catalog to etched Seymchan iron). This is a really nice complete slice at a price well below what I bulk lot wholesaled the smaller pieces for. I could easily sell this to those 2 customers as well if I was will to cut it into smaller squares (these are jewelry artists that are wanting my pieces). I really don't want to do that to this piece to make the sale (the fact that it has been cold, snowing and windy since I got home certainly helps make that decision). I got this from a collector in Texas right before the show. It was never coated so it had some minor rusting along natural cracks near the outer edge (as many Gibeons have). This is etched on both sides. Excellent slice!
873.6 gram complete slice – 210mm x 150mm x 4mm - $3600
HENBURY, Australia: Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1931.
Here are a couple nice natural pieces I got from the same person. The smaller is pretty typical shrapnel shape. The larger is a really nice piece with nice shape and nice sculpting. These are priced at (or even slightly below) what the Australian sources are charging for Henbury these days. Frankly, I am quite surprised this big piece didn't sell at the show (but then it's a lot of grams so not a cheap specimen).
a) 66.7 gram natural shrapnel shape individual – 46mm x 33mm x 10mm - $130
b) 787 gram sculpted individual – 120mm x 75mm x 30mm - $1575
MUNDRIBILLA, Australia: Medium octahedrite. Found 1911.
Here is an interesting shaped individual. It has a fairly large deep hole on one end giving it a quasi pac-man look. Surprisingly, this nearly 200g piece is actually fairly large for what is available for this material. This has not been cleaned in any way and has a really nice mottled medium brown patina. A really neat specimen.
184.7 gram natural individual – 50mm x 40mm x 30mm - $170 SOLD
Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 133
March 6, 2013
Dear Collectors,
This is going out a day late as I got stuck in Denver for a day longer than I had planned due to bad weather closing the road I need to take home on Monday (didn't get back until late last night).
Now I'd like to make a few somewhat long- winded comments on some things.
FIRST: This is something that I have already lost many hours of time on the phone with (and more in typing e-mails) and want it to get out as far and wide as possible to reduce this work load. I am NOT going to Russia! I know the excitement of a new fall (and this is an important one) and how everyone can't wait to get a piece of it. However a "simple" trip to Russia to buy some of this material is neither simple nor particularly smart (in my opinion) at this point. The government there is trying to put a lid on people taking this stuff (I have heard rumors of them going after the few E-Bay listings of this material there have been) and I CERTAINLY don't want to be the one caught stepping on their toes (or those of others that may be involved in the money side of this fall) in acquiring this stuff. This sounds like a sure recipe for trouble. Also, the price is definitely going to be the highest right now, with many of the locals thinking this stuff is "more valuable than gold" (I wonder who gave them that silly idea on nightly news and national radio programs). Given this current false hype (and the freshness of the event) the locals are very unlikely to want to sell at anything near a reasonable price right now. Over the years, I have observed the hype and high prices of many new falls (and this hype is certainly deserved for the "freshest" new alien on our planet). What I have seen is that the prices for this new material is pretty much always (over a period of a few years any way – inflation can make pretty much anything go up in price over decades) the highest right after the fall. Almost always, there is eventually enough material to bring the prices down, often substantially once the hype has died down and the "gotta own some now" buyers have been satisfied. So my actions on this fall are boringly as such: As there is obviously a lot of material being found I will probably just sit and wait until things cool down a bit and my usual friends and suppliers from Russia get some of this stuff make it available at reasonable prices. These guys are good at dealing with the "issues" of the area and making things quite cheap. Then I hope to offer nice, affordable pieces. I know many of you worry "buy now or never get any". I do understand this view. There are indeed cases where the material never makes it into collector's hands in substantial enough quantities to bring the prices down (or even satisfy the initial demand), but this is rare. My advice has always been; Buy the smallest piece of a new fall that will keep you from loosing sleep at night over not owning a piece. This way you will have a piece but not be betting the ranch on it. Later, when things settle down, buy a bigger piece (if you still want one). Most likely, the price per gram will be less than it was when the news was fresh. Likely worst case is you might end up paying a similar price as when it was new (I am having real trouble coming up with an example where even this has been the case recently, even Sutter's Mill, Alahatta Sitta and Katol recently have dropped quite a bit from their original prices). Having seen this time and time again over the years (with many specific examples I won't go into here) I really DO NOT want to get tied up in the early high prices (hoping to get a little bit higher prices on the way to cover my expenses) and then end up having everyone who bought a piece from me upset with me if/when the value comes crashing down months later.
SECOND: Many of you sent e-mails expecting responses while I was at the show. Unfortunately, I really do not have e-mail access at the show. I don't even bring a computer – Blake does but he is only in Tucson for a few days at the beginning and end of the show these days. The hotel has wireless but it is very sketchy in my room (works best while sitting on the toilet with one foot in the bathtub). Even if these things weren't an issue, the simple truth of the matter is I simply don't have time to do e-mails during the show. I know, hard to believe but here is the general schedule. I wake at around 7AM, make/ have coffee, take a shower, call home perhaps, set up the room (move/ clean cases, re-stock bins set out new material etc.), have breakfast and then I have 20 minutes maybe to walk around a bit and maybe buy some things from the folks set up at my hotel before I have to get my door open by 10AM (though I often had people pounding on the door asking me to open much earlier many days so I didn't even get this little bit of "break" some days). Then it is all people all day. I generally had the room open until 10PM most nights (but much later some nights if people were hanging out). Then it was take the stuff off the bed, set up clothes and such for the next day and get to bed around 11:30 or midnight if I was lucky. Then wake up the next day and start over (rinse and repeat) for 16 days. I know you may think I should be able to do e-mail while trying to run the room during the day but this is really not the case. The foot traffic was fairly slow but still busy enough that I was never even able to get out of the room for more than (literally) a few minutes before being radioed that some one or something required me to return (I never even had the time to go through a watch and clock magazine I had brought with me, expecting to finish it during "slow times". Nor did I have the chance to go see all of the other dealers and friends at other hotels). Plus, I think it is a bit rude, even bad (show anyway) business perhaps, to ignore people in your room so you can pay more attention to your computer or phone. I know, the world is a different place these days and I, perhaps, need to update my thinking. However, a dinner I had with friends a couple years ago kind of burned this bias into my mind. I had not seen them quite some time (years) but they all spent the entire time playing/ texting with their phones. Hardly a word among us was spoken. Left me kind of feeling "what's the point of this get together?" when it was obvious all anybody really wanted to do is focus not on the people around them but on the world in their phones. So, I do know some of you were not happy that I did not handle the e-mails while gone, but I really honestly do not have the ability or time while at the show. I do try to at least go through them and deal with any critical things right before and right after (as soon as I can borrow a computer) though. However, it takes me nearly a week more before I am home, unpacked caught up and more or less "back in business". I apologize for this, but I really don't see a way around this problem at this point.
Anyway, enough of all of that. Here are a few items (irons this time) that were left with me at the show. Grab them now before they get sent back to the owners.
Enjoy!
BOXHOLE, Australia: Medium Octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1937.
It has been a long time since I have had any piece o this meteorite and I can't recall ever having one this large. The Boxhole's I recall were all few grams to few tens of grams in size. Now here is a nice shaped and sculpted 429 gram individual! Even better yet it has great provenance (important as some Boxhole pieces look so much like Henbury that sometimes you wonder if…..). This comes with a Ron Hartman Meteorite Collection label.
429 gram natural individual – 85mm x 55mm x 20mm - $1300
CAMPO DEL CIELO, Argentina: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1576.
This is a really interesting slice that Darryl Pitt left with me. As you can imagine, it must be aesthetically pleasing if he had it. This was labeled as a "Transitional silicated" piece and that it truly is. About two thirds of the piece is heavily silicated, showing distinct clast texture to the silicates (looking very much like Udei Station or Landes). The other third is pure clean iron. One side of this piece is polished and the other is etched. A really nice and interesting specimen.
99.3 gram silicated complete slice – 100mm x 70mm x 3mm - $450
CANYON DIABLO, Arizona: Coarse octahedrite (IAB). Found 1891.
Here is a really interesting shaped "rim specimen". This is a nice sculpted thin individual that has a metallic ring to it when tapped. These sculpted generally thin pieces were found near the edge of the crater. These will not etch if you polish them (I know this from experience). I was told that there delicate shape (and lack of etching) is from them being highly heated during the blast that formed the crater (I think it was Glenn Huss that told me about these). Anyway, this is a really nice natural individual with an interesting thin shallow dish shape.
224.4 gram natural individual – 90mm x 55mm x 10mm - $280 SOLD
.JPG) |
| GIBEON, Namibia; Fine octahedrite (IVA).873.6 gram complete slice – 210mm x 150mm x 4mm - $3600 "click on image to enlarge" |
This stuff has gotten surprisingly hard to come by these days. I sold ALL of my small pieces at the show and have people waiting for me to pull out all the rest of my small pieces (I'll be changing my main catalog to etched Seymchan iron). This is a really nice complete slice at a price well below what I bulk lot wholesaled the smaller pieces for. I could easily sell this to those 2 customers as well if I was will to cut it into smaller squares (these are jewelry artists that are wanting my pieces). I really don't want to do that to this piece to make the sale (the fact that it has been cold, snowing and windy since I got home certainly helps make that decision). I got this from a collector in Texas right before the show. It was never coated so it had some minor rusting along natural cracks near the outer edge (as many Gibeons have). This is etched on both sides. Excellent slice!
873.6 gram complete slice – 210mm x 150mm x 4mm - $3600
HENBURY, Australia: Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1931.
Here are a couple nice natural pieces I got from the same person. The smaller is pretty typical shrapnel shape. The larger is a really nice piece with nice shape and nice sculpting. These are priced at (or even slightly below) what the Australian sources are charging for Henbury these days. Frankly, I am quite surprised this big piece didn't sell at the show (but then it's a lot of grams so not a cheap specimen).
a) 66.7 gram natural shrapnel shape individual – 46mm x 33mm x 10mm - $130
b) 787 gram sculpted individual – 120mm x 75mm x 30mm - $1575
MUNDRIBILLA, Australia: Medium octahedrite. Found 1911.
Here is an interesting shaped individual. It has a fairly large deep hole on one end giving it a quasi pac-man look. Surprisingly, this nearly 200g piece is actually fairly large for what is available for this material. This has not been cleaned in any way and has a really nice mottled medium brown patina. A really neat specimen.
184.7 gram natural individual – 50mm x 40mm x 30mm - $170 SOLD
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Blaine Reed Meteorites - List 132 15JAN2013
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
………………………………………………………..LIST
132
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 29th until about
February 19th. 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 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 12th 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).
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
[brmeteorites_list] List 131 - more small stuff
[brmeteorites_list] List 131 - more small stuff
Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 131
December 19, 2012
Dear Collectors,
I am sorry that this is going out late. I discovered yesterday morning that my one remaining Guinea pig (CQ) is ill and required an emergency trip to the vet (which is a bit over an hour drive each way for the vet that is up to date on Guinea pig care). We did not get back from this appointment until a bit after 4PM yesterday - too late to send this out. We have had CQ for a bit over 7½ years now (she is close to 8 as she was 5 months or so old when we got her). Unfortunately, the doctor's news clearly says we will not have her for much longer. She had cancer a couple years ago and did great after surgery. Unfortunately it has returned with a vengeance and is inoperable this time. So, making her comfortable (pain medication, lots of treats and attention) is all we can do for her at this point. (I have put some photos of her in the group photos section for anyone that wants to see what this old girl looks like).
I still hope to do an "end of year get it out of inventory" offering. However, I have not had much time to do the work to find what I want to go away (for simplifying bookwork purposes anyway). I have been buried with what has turned out to be a far bigger project than I had anticipated. I got all the general components to set up a solar hot water heating system (mostly for the water heater for nice "free" hot showers but also for actually heating the house if there is left over heat from that primary job). This is a really BIG project to put together it turns out. It has it all; plumbing, mechanical, and electric. For added excitement, much of the work has to be done in small closets, under the house in crawl spaces and on the roof. I had been really putting myself into this hoping to get the bulk of the work done while we had nice weather. I am maybe 2/3 done with this. However, we have bad weather rapidly moving in which might put an end to this project (the out doors and semi-outdoors parts anyway) for awhile (it is snowing heavily at this moment so I probably won't be taking packages to the post office today either). Then I may get to my inventory work and see if I can make a list out of it.
Anyway, here is another little selection from the old research collection that the last list came out of.
ATARRA, India: (L4), black. Fell December 23, 1920. Tkw = 1280 grams.
Now I know there cannot be much of this out. Only three stones were recovered with a total of a bit over a kilo known. This is certainly the first time I have seen a piece (al be it small) of this fall.
.065 grams fragments in capsule - $60
AZTEC, New Mexico: (L6). Fell February 1, 1938. Tkw = 2.83kg.
I know that there is very little of this one out there. I went through the brutal process of doing a trade with the Field Museum many years ago to get a small bit of this for a collector who lives in the area of the fall. This is the first time I have seen any of this since.
.05 gram fragment – 5mm x 5mm x 1.5mm - $30
.065 grams of fragments in capsule - $35
BATH, South Dakota: (H4), breccia. Fell August 29, 1892. Tkw = 21kg.
I know I had a piece of Bath Furnace in my micro collection years ago but don't think I had any of this one.
.025g fragment – 2.5mm x 2mm x 2mm - $10
ELENOVKA, Ukraine: (L5). Fell October 17, 1951. Tkw = 54.64kg.
These (I have a couple of them) are powder, crumbs and fragments in a capsule. The fragments portion are generally sized from 1mm up to 5mm in size.
.5 grams of fragments, crumbs, powder in capsule - $20
KELLY, Colorado: (LL4), breccia. Found 1937. Tkw = 44.3kg.
Kelly was my first LL4 I ever had and sold. It was also VERY popular as pretty much no collectors had an LL4 at that point (they are quite a bit rarer than LL3s). I seem to recall that back then (certainly over 20 years and likely closer to 24 years ago) the stuff brought the princely sum of around $20/g.
1.9 gram thick slice – 12mm x 9mm x 10mm - $60
KUTTIPPURAM, India: (L6). Fell April 6, 1914. Tkw = 45.4kg.
A shower of stones fell over 4 villages. The largest piece was around 71 pounds. Not a lot of this has gotten out as there are around 38kg of this fall reported held in Calcutta (meaning only around 7kg for the rest of us, museums included).
.025 grams, 3 fragments in capsule - $10
.04 gram fragment – 4mm x 3mm x 2mm - $15
KYUSHU, Japan: (L6) veined. Fell October 26, 1886. Tkw = 45+kg.
I have had piece of this in the past but it has been awhile. Not many meteorites from Japan are available to collectors (small target, a lot relatively difficult hunting terrain and such).
.015 grams, 2 fragments in capsule - $10
.03 gram fragment – 4mm x 2mm x 2mm - $15
SEARSMONT, Maine: (H5). Fell May 21, 1871. Tkw = about 900grams.
It was reported that a 12 pound (around 5.5kg) stone fell but only about 2 pounds was preserved. I have had a piece of this in the long ago past. I think this is the only meteorite from Maine I have ever had.
.06 grams fragments and dust in capsule - $20
WESTON, Connecticut: (H4). Fell December 14, 1807. Tkw = 149.7kg.
Apparently, this was a much larger fall than I had thought. However, it is noted that "very little was preserved". According to the Catalog of Meteorites, there is a bit under 4.3kg of this meteorite reported in major museum collections. I know that this has been one of the really high dollar historic rarities I've seen occasionally lately. But I guess though this is indeed important as it is the US's first witnessed fall.
.035 grams fragments in capsule - $15
.18 gram fragment – 6mm x 4mm x 4mm - $60
WOOLGORONG, Australia: (L6). Fell December 20, 1960. Tkw = 36.3 kg.
This, like Millbillillie, was recovered some time after the fall. In the case of this stone, it was not until July of 1961 that 80 pounds of fragemnts were recovered.
Dust in capsule - $5
About .01g (about 2mm square) of fragments in capsule - $10
ZAVID, Bosnia-Herzegovina: (L6) breccia. Fell August 1, 1897. Tkw = 92.78kg.
The fireball from this fall traveled from the SE to the NW. Four stones were recovered. It is likely that more pieces fell in to the river Drina.
.045 gram fragment – 4mm x 3mm x 2mm - $10
Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 131
December 19, 2012
Dear Collectors,
I am sorry that this is going out late. I discovered yesterday morning that my one remaining Guinea pig (CQ) is ill and required an emergency trip to the vet (which is a bit over an hour drive each way for the vet that is up to date on Guinea pig care). We did not get back from this appointment until a bit after 4PM yesterday - too late to send this out. We have had CQ for a bit over 7½ years now (she is close to 8 as she was 5 months or so old when we got her). Unfortunately, the doctor's news clearly says we will not have her for much longer. She had cancer a couple years ago and did great after surgery. Unfortunately it has returned with a vengeance and is inoperable this time. So, making her comfortable (pain medication, lots of treats and attention) is all we can do for her at this point. (I have put some photos of her in the group photos section for anyone that wants to see what this old girl looks like).
I still hope to do an "end of year get it out of inventory" offering. However, I have not had much time to do the work to find what I want to go away (for simplifying bookwork purposes anyway). I have been buried with what has turned out to be a far bigger project than I had anticipated. I got all the general components to set up a solar hot water heating system (mostly for the water heater for nice "free" hot showers but also for actually heating the house if there is left over heat from that primary job). This is a really BIG project to put together it turns out. It has it all; plumbing, mechanical, and electric. For added excitement, much of the work has to be done in small closets, under the house in crawl spaces and on the roof. I had been really putting myself into this hoping to get the bulk of the work done while we had nice weather. I am maybe 2/3 done with this. However, we have bad weather rapidly moving in which might put an end to this project (the out doors and semi-outdoors parts anyway) for awhile (it is snowing heavily at this moment so I probably won't be taking packages to the post office today either). Then I may get to my inventory work and see if I can make a list out of it.
Anyway, here is another little selection from the old research collection that the last list came out of.
ATARRA, India: (L4), black. Fell December 23, 1920. Tkw = 1280 grams.
Now I know there cannot be much of this out. Only three stones were recovered with a total of a bit over a kilo known. This is certainly the first time I have seen a piece (al be it small) of this fall.
.065 grams fragments in capsule - $60
AZTEC, New Mexico: (L6). Fell February 1, 1938. Tkw = 2.83kg.
I know that there is very little of this one out there. I went through the brutal process of doing a trade with the Field Museum many years ago to get a small bit of this for a collector who lives in the area of the fall. This is the first time I have seen any of this since.
.05 gram fragment – 5mm x 5mm x 1.5mm - $30
.065 grams of fragments in capsule - $35
BATH, South Dakota: (H4), breccia. Fell August 29, 1892. Tkw = 21kg.
I know I had a piece of Bath Furnace in my micro collection years ago but don't think I had any of this one.
.025g fragment – 2.5mm x 2mm x 2mm - $10
ELENOVKA, Ukraine: (L5). Fell October 17, 1951. Tkw = 54.64kg.
These (I have a couple of them) are powder, crumbs and fragments in a capsule. The fragments portion are generally sized from 1mm up to 5mm in size.
.5 grams of fragments, crumbs, powder in capsule - $20
KELLY, Colorado: (LL4), breccia. Found 1937. Tkw = 44.3kg.
Kelly was my first LL4 I ever had and sold. It was also VERY popular as pretty much no collectors had an LL4 at that point (they are quite a bit rarer than LL3s). I seem to recall that back then (certainly over 20 years and likely closer to 24 years ago) the stuff brought the princely sum of around $20/g.
1.9 gram thick slice – 12mm x 9mm x 10mm - $60
KUTTIPPURAM, India: (L6). Fell April 6, 1914. Tkw = 45.4kg.
A shower of stones fell over 4 villages. The largest piece was around 71 pounds. Not a lot of this has gotten out as there are around 38kg of this fall reported held in Calcutta (meaning only around 7kg for the rest of us, museums included).
.025 grams, 3 fragments in capsule - $10
.04 gram fragment – 4mm x 3mm x 2mm - $15
KYUSHU, Japan: (L6) veined. Fell October 26, 1886. Tkw = 45+kg.
I have had piece of this in the past but it has been awhile. Not many meteorites from Japan are available to collectors (small target, a lot relatively difficult hunting terrain and such).
.015 grams, 2 fragments in capsule - $10
.03 gram fragment – 4mm x 2mm x 2mm - $15
SEARSMONT, Maine: (H5). Fell May 21, 1871. Tkw = about 900grams.
It was reported that a 12 pound (around 5.5kg) stone fell but only about 2 pounds was preserved. I have had a piece of this in the long ago past. I think this is the only meteorite from Maine I have ever had.
.06 grams fragments and dust in capsule - $20
WESTON, Connecticut: (H4). Fell December 14, 1807. Tkw = 149.7kg.
Apparently, this was a much larger fall than I had thought. However, it is noted that "very little was preserved". According to the Catalog of Meteorites, there is a bit under 4.3kg of this meteorite reported in major museum collections. I know that this has been one of the really high dollar historic rarities I've seen occasionally lately. But I guess though this is indeed important as it is the US's first witnessed fall.
.035 grams fragments in capsule - $15
.18 gram fragment – 6mm x 4mm x 4mm - $60
WOOLGORONG, Australia: (L6). Fell December 20, 1960. Tkw = 36.3 kg.
This, like Millbillillie, was recovered some time after the fall. In the case of this stone, it was not until July of 1961 that 80 pounds of fragemnts were recovered.
Dust in capsule - $5
About .01g (about 2mm square) of fragments in capsule - $10
ZAVID, Bosnia-Herzegovina: (L6) breccia. Fell August 1, 1897. Tkw = 92.78kg.
The fireball from this fall traveled from the SE to the NW. Four stones were recovered. It is likely that more pieces fell in to the river Drina.
.045 gram fragment – 4mm x 3mm x 2mm - $10
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
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
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
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Blaine Reed Meteorites -List 129 - some interesting larger items
Blaine Reed Meteorites -List 129 - some interesting larger items
Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 129
November 20, 2012
Dear Collectors,
Here are a few items I have picked up at the past couple shows. These things are more tektites and miscellaneous special or large pieces than meteorites this time. I listed the meteorites first, but there are certainly interesting things below.
A holiday season note, request for help or opinion:
I had hoped to pull together some kind of gift certificate system by now. Frankly, the holiday season is generally one of my slowest. This is because collectors are using their money to buy gifts for family and friends (not meteorites) and family and friends don't often buy meteorites for their collector friends (can't blame them – they usually have no idea what those collectors want or need so the don't risk buying any meteorite specimens). I thought that a gift certificate program on my part might help break up that log jam (then family and friends of collectors could simply buy a gift certificate from me which the collector could then use to turn into meteorites/ tektites and such from me later). Unfortunately, in our highly over regulated supposedly free economy, it seems that I may not legally be able to do this. It seems that the government (both state and Fed) has gotten into regulating gift certificates, balances on them and collecting taxes fees and such. I do understand that I certainly should pay taxes on any sale of gift certificates I make BUT it seems that they want additional taxes and demand that I turn over unused balances to them after a certain amount of time. I don't know the specific rules (and whether or not they would fully apply to what tiny amount of business I would do in these things) but I was informed by another dealer who looked into it a few years ago to simply DON'T DO IT. If anyone out there has a better understanding of the rules on these things PLEASE CONTACT ME. Maybe I can find a loop-hole that will allow me to offer gift certificates in the future. I suppose I should first ask though if anyone out there thinks that having such available would be of any use or help to them (no sense getting all worked up over legal details if really no one wants the things to begin with).
SEYMCHAN, Russia: (Pallasite).
Here is a really nice bookend of true pallasite (loaded with olivine). Its profile is square (all cut edges) but the back is natural exterior (so its kind of an end piece). This stands up nicely on its own. I have this priced a bit below what it would likely cost to replace it at this point (probably around $1500 or so from what I saw at the Denver show). I'd rather try to sell this nice piece as it is before possibly sending it off for cutting.
368.9 gram book end – 72mm x 70mm x 20mm - $1250
TAZA – NWA (859) : Plessitic octahedrite (real one).
I got this piece in Denver incase I needed to have a decent piece to hand around (or run an XRF on in front of) the jury at last month's trial. I did not end up needing to do either (but I guess there is indeed still a chance the clown will be awarded a new trial though). I managed to pick a nice oriented `bullet' shaped individual. It has a nice rounded nose and slowly tapers out from there. There are some thumbprints on and near the back of the piece. This is a mottled rust brown as I have left this just as I got it (which looks to be pretty much as it was likely found).
245.2 gram oriented individual as found – 60mm x 30mm x 25mm - $650
ANORTHOSITE: Isle of Harris, Scotland, UK
Here is an end piece of terrestrial anorthosite. Like its Lunar counterpart, this is nearly white in color (though there is a greenish tinge on one side of the cut and polished face). This is the cheap way to see what the material that originally made up much of the luinar highlands looked like before impact mixing and such. The paper that comes with this gives the location as Lingerbay, Isle of Harris, Scotland, UK.
58.4 gram cut fragment – 65mm x 30mm x 20mm - $20
AUSTRALITE: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Here is, by far, the largest Australite I have ever had. I can't recall having any in the past 26 years that were much bigger than 12 grams or so. This is a positively huge one in comparison to all I have had in the past. This is a complete individual as found. It is not real exciting in shape or features – a slightly squashed egg shaped piece with fairly shallow grooving and flow lines. The real special feature of this piece is indeed its truly rare (and unchipped no less) size.
43.8 gram individual – 45mm x 30mm x 20mm - $400
JOSEPHENITE, Oregon: Terrestrial Fe/Ni alloy.
This is a little individual nugget of this interesting and quite rare material. It is believed that this may have been brought up from the outer core with a very deep origin magma plume. These are often found as placer nuggets in streams after they have weathered out of the rock they were originally trapped in. This is a typical rounded little nugget.
2.6 gram nugget – 12mm x 10mm x 5mm - $15
TEKTITE KIT:
Here is a neat item I got from Al Mitterling at the Denver show. It is a Riker box with 5 different tektites/ impact glasses. The pieces in this are no slouches for size or quality either. I suppose the Australite could be a bit bigger (see above) but it certainly is the size of what is usually available. The items (and weights) are: Australite – 2.1g, Darwin Glass – 8.7g, Indochinite – 12.5g, Libyan Desert Glass – 14.6g, Moldavite – 8.6g.
Tektite kit in Riker - $120
WABAR IMPACTITE/ CRATER GLASS, Saudi Arabia.
I have only seen small bits of impact glass from this crater over the years. Usually, I see the small impact pearls (little half centimeter or so glass beads) that the owners generally want waaaay too much money for (last I was offered they wanted $300 to $500 for each pearl). There is a lot of those pearls and impactites out there in the desert but VERY few people have ever been allowed out to the crater (and are often monitored when they are there). I have heard that large sand dunes are moving into the area and are about to (if they have not already) cover the area for what will likely be a long time. Anyway, what I have here is truly a HUGE piece of crater glass/ impactite from this crater. I picked it up in Socorro a couple weeks ago. It came from a retired geologist who did work in Saudi Arabia many years ago. I am not certain exactly how to classify this chunk. It has the highly frothy nature (and metal blebs) of an impactite but has kind of a lava like flow structure to it as well. NOTE – I certainly did test this – it indeed has plenty of nickel in it so it certainly is NOT just a piece of lava. I also am not sure how to price this, perhaps its an item that is unique enough that it would be better in an auction. I decided to price (per gram wise) about the same that my other impactites are. However, this has a lot of grams to it so it still works out to be a substantial chunk of money.
209gram natural fragment as found – 140mm x 75mm x 45mm - $400
THIN-SECTION:
Here is, unfortunately, a broken thin-section I have had sitting on my desk for years now (it got broken in shipping, not from sitting on my desk surprisingly). It was from my NWA (5779) LL5 breccia that finally got reported recently (hence my ability to now get rid of this thing). It is broken into 5 pieces but there are certainly a couple big enough to still enjoy under a scope.
Broken t-section - $5
Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
…………………………………………………………………LIST 129
November 20, 2012
Dear Collectors,
Here are a few items I have picked up at the past couple shows. These things are more tektites and miscellaneous special or large pieces than meteorites this time. I listed the meteorites first, but there are certainly interesting things below.
A holiday season note, request for help or opinion:
I had hoped to pull together some kind of gift certificate system by now. Frankly, the holiday season is generally one of my slowest. This is because collectors are using their money to buy gifts for family and friends (not meteorites) and family and friends don't often buy meteorites for their collector friends (can't blame them – they usually have no idea what those collectors want or need so the don't risk buying any meteorite specimens). I thought that a gift certificate program on my part might help break up that log jam (then family and friends of collectors could simply buy a gift certificate from me which the collector could then use to turn into meteorites/ tektites and such from me later). Unfortunately, in our highly over regulated supposedly free economy, it seems that I may not legally be able to do this. It seems that the government (both state and Fed) has gotten into regulating gift certificates, balances on them and collecting taxes fees and such. I do understand that I certainly should pay taxes on any sale of gift certificates I make BUT it seems that they want additional taxes and demand that I turn over unused balances to them after a certain amount of time. I don't know the specific rules (and whether or not they would fully apply to what tiny amount of business I would do in these things) but I was informed by another dealer who looked into it a few years ago to simply DON'T DO IT. If anyone out there has a better understanding of the rules on these things PLEASE CONTACT ME. Maybe I can find a loop-hole that will allow me to offer gift certificates in the future. I suppose I should first ask though if anyone out there thinks that having such available would be of any use or help to them (no sense getting all worked up over legal details if really no one wants the things to begin with).
SEYMCHAN, Russia: (Pallasite).
Here is a really nice bookend of true pallasite (loaded with olivine). Its profile is square (all cut edges) but the back is natural exterior (so its kind of an end piece). This stands up nicely on its own. I have this priced a bit below what it would likely cost to replace it at this point (probably around $1500 or so from what I saw at the Denver show). I'd rather try to sell this nice piece as it is before possibly sending it off for cutting.
368.9 gram book end – 72mm x 70mm x 20mm - $1250
TAZA – NWA (859) : Plessitic octahedrite (real one).
I got this piece in Denver incase I needed to have a decent piece to hand around (or run an XRF on in front of) the jury at last month's trial. I did not end up needing to do either (but I guess there is indeed still a chance the clown will be awarded a new trial though). I managed to pick a nice oriented `bullet' shaped individual. It has a nice rounded nose and slowly tapers out from there. There are some thumbprints on and near the back of the piece. This is a mottled rust brown as I have left this just as I got it (which looks to be pretty much as it was likely found).
245.2 gram oriented individual as found – 60mm x 30mm x 25mm - $650
ANORTHOSITE: Isle of Harris, Scotland, UK
Here is an end piece of terrestrial anorthosite. Like its Lunar counterpart, this is nearly white in color (though there is a greenish tinge on one side of the cut and polished face). This is the cheap way to see what the material that originally made up much of the luinar highlands looked like before impact mixing and such. The paper that comes with this gives the location as Lingerbay, Isle of Harris, Scotland, UK.
58.4 gram cut fragment – 65mm x 30mm x 20mm - $20
AUSTRALITE: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Here is, by far, the largest Australite I have ever had. I can't recall having any in the past 26 years that were much bigger than 12 grams or so. This is a positively huge one in comparison to all I have had in the past. This is a complete individual as found. It is not real exciting in shape or features – a slightly squashed egg shaped piece with fairly shallow grooving and flow lines. The real special feature of this piece is indeed its truly rare (and unchipped no less) size.
43.8 gram individual – 45mm x 30mm x 20mm - $400
JOSEPHENITE, Oregon: Terrestrial Fe/Ni alloy.
This is a little individual nugget of this interesting and quite rare material. It is believed that this may have been brought up from the outer core with a very deep origin magma plume. These are often found as placer nuggets in streams after they have weathered out of the rock they were originally trapped in. This is a typical rounded little nugget.
2.6 gram nugget – 12mm x 10mm x 5mm - $15
TEKTITE KIT:
Here is a neat item I got from Al Mitterling at the Denver show. It is a Riker box with 5 different tektites/ impact glasses. The pieces in this are no slouches for size or quality either. I suppose the Australite could be a bit bigger (see above) but it certainly is the size of what is usually available. The items (and weights) are: Australite – 2.1g, Darwin Glass – 8.7g, Indochinite – 12.5g, Libyan Desert Glass – 14.6g, Moldavite – 8.6g.
Tektite kit in Riker - $120
WABAR IMPACTITE/ CRATER GLASS, Saudi Arabia.
I have only seen small bits of impact glass from this crater over the years. Usually, I see the small impact pearls (little half centimeter or so glass beads) that the owners generally want waaaay too much money for (last I was offered they wanted $300 to $500 for each pearl). There is a lot of those pearls and impactites out there in the desert but VERY few people have ever been allowed out to the crater (and are often monitored when they are there). I have heard that large sand dunes are moving into the area and are about to (if they have not already) cover the area for what will likely be a long time. Anyway, what I have here is truly a HUGE piece of crater glass/ impactite from this crater. I picked it up in Socorro a couple weeks ago. It came from a retired geologist who did work in Saudi Arabia many years ago. I am not certain exactly how to classify this chunk. It has the highly frothy nature (and metal blebs) of an impactite but has kind of a lava like flow structure to it as well. NOTE – I certainly did test this – it indeed has plenty of nickel in it so it certainly is NOT just a piece of lava. I also am not sure how to price this, perhaps its an item that is unique enough that it would be better in an auction. I decided to price (per gram wise) about the same that my other impactites are. However, this has a lot of grams to it so it still works out to be a substantial chunk of money.
209gram natural fragment as found – 140mm x 75mm x 45mm - $400
THIN-SECTION:
Here is, unfortunately, a broken thin-section I have had sitting on my desk for years now (it got broken in shipping, not from sitting on my desk surprisingly). It was from my NWA (5779) LL5 breccia that finally got reported recently (hence my ability to now get rid of this thing). It is broken into 5 pieces but there are certainly a couple big enough to still enjoy under a scope.
Broken t-section - $5
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