Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 208 After Denver

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 208 After Denver

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
……………………………………………………LIST 208
October 4, 2017

Dear collectors,
One note: As I have been trying to get done on these e-mail postings (as well, obviously, for the pretty much identical mailed versions as well but I didn’t have enough room on that to tell those folks about this unfortunately), I did get some group photos of each of these things. So, I can send you a photo of each of the things below if needed. BUT be aware that it will have all of the different size/ style pieces listed in each picture. Also it will necessarily be of the exact pieces listed below. I generally have multiple pieces of most things listed. I generally send the first person requesting a particular piece something pretty much identical (and often slightly bigger), so if you MUST have the one in the picture (assuming it is still available), please let me know.


GAN GAN, Argentina: Fine octahedrite (IVA). Found 1984. Tkw = 83 kilograms.
Now here is a meteorite I have not offered in a long time. The info cards I have from when I originally offered it where typed up on a type-writer. Many people alive today have never had to use one of those (yep, I’ll send along one of those cards with each specimen). These pieces are specimens that were recently released from the Jim Schwade collection (and each comes with one of those labels as well). They are polished on one side (but generally show etch on both). The etch is not real vibrant on this material, being somewhat fainter and grayer than some fine octahedrites but nice none the less.
1) Etched part slices:
a) 14.5 grams - 36mm x 9mm x 5mm - $73
b) 30.7 grams - 29mm x 25mm x 5mm - $145
c) 43.3 grams - 48mm x 19mm x 5mm - $200
d) 88.5grams - 65mm x 36mm x 5mm - $400
e) 119.2 grams - 55mm x 52mm x 5mm - $525
f) 190.5grams - 89mm x 50mm x 5mm - $800
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HOPE CREEK, Alaska: Ordinary chondrite (LL6). Found 1998. Tkw = 9.83 kilograms.
Here is an item I had on display (and nearly sold) at this past Denver Show. The Meteoritical Bulletin simply says that this was found by Chris Shaw while metal detecting for gold. This was on consignment with another dealer (for just a bit over 2.5 times the original price) and that card says that this is the main mass. The main mass is actually owned by Dirk Ross, Tokyo. Anyway, this is a “bookend” cut block that has 3 cut faces and nice crust covering most of the remainder. For a really good photo of this piece that shows the interesting/ odd interior structure of this meteorite really well – go to the Meteoritcal Bulletin listing for this meteorite and look at the photos published below – the one Anne Black (Impactica) posted is really very nice. If this does not sell intact I will consider cutting it up – so let me know if you might be wanting just a slice of this in the future.
805.5 gram book end – 90mm x 65mm x 60mm - $3800
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NORTHBRANCH, Kansas: Ordinary chondrite. (H5). Found 1972. Recognized 1997. Tkw = 76kg.
Like the above Gan Gan, this is another meteorite I have not offered in a long time (and also has the old type-writer created labels). I am not certain if I ever really did offer this stuff on a mailed list. I sold most of it as large wholesale end pieces and slices years ago and then taped up the few remaining slices and put them into storage, not wanting to polish them as they were fragile and had pretty bad saw marks. I finally got these polished (on one side anyway) a few weeks ago. To be bluntly honest, this stuff will certainly NOT win any beauty contests. It is probably one of the uglier US meteorites I have ever had (and, frankly, the internal textures show better on the unpolished side). Despite being quite weathered, it does still show some metal in a fairly dark, mottled green and brown matrix. I have surprisingly little of this material remaining, so don’t wait too long if you are interested in having a piece of this US stone in your collection.
1) Slices:
a) 7.6 grams - 20mm x 18mm x 6mm - $15
b) 15.4 grams - 33mm x 23mm x 6mm - $30
c) 34.2 grams - 45mm x 40mm x 6mm - $65
d) 67.3 grams - 70mm x 60mm x 6mm - $125
e) 146.9 grams - 120mm x 67mm x 6mm - $270
f) 343.2 grams - 155mm x 140mm x 6mm - $600 – only one this size.
g) 858.1 grams - 310mm x 160mm x 6mm - $1400 - only one this size.
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NWA (11299): Carbonaceous chondrite (CK5). Found before February 2017. Tkw = 969.7 grams.
Here is a stone I picked up this past Tucson and got through research quickly. Though cut pieces of this meteorite look pretty normal visually, research work showed that this is not really a typical CK meteorite. This stone has very low FeO compositions in its minerals. As such, this was originally submitted as “CK5 – anom” for its classification. Apparently, it did not get accepted/ published as such by the Nomenclature Committee. Regardless, this is indeed a strange stone. There are only 4 other CK meteorites (among all petrographic grades) known in the world (two of which are published as “anomalous”) with similar low FeO compositions at the time the research and reporting work was done on this meteorite.
1) Slices:
a) 2.7 grams - 16mm x 14mm x 4mm - $35
b) 5.4 grams - 23mm x 19mm x 4mm - $68
c) 10.0 grams - 30mm x 27mm x 4mm - $120
d) 23.1 grams - 45mm x 40mm x 4mm - $270
e) 44.4 grams - 90mm x 42mm x 4mm - $500 – complete slice.
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NWA (11396): HED achondrite (Eucrite, melt breccia). Found before February 2017. Tkw = 953.0 grams.
This is another item I picked up in Tucson. It had a weird exterior look and XRF analysis hinted that it was a bit different (looked similar to HED but had some significant differences). Analysis after cutting showed it was indeed a bit different, but not the really different I was hoping for. The interior is kind of a mushy mix of lighter eucrite looking clasts in a medium green/gray matrix that shows some melt flow structure in places. The official report shows this to be the 14th eucrite melt breccia known (3 from Antarctica and the rest being NWA). Not real pretty, but rare and interesting.
1) Slices:
a) 3.4 grams - 20mm x 13mm x 4mm - $35
b) 7.1 grams - 27mm x 24mm x 4mm - $70
c) 15.6 grams - 40mm x 30mm x 5mm - $150
d) 28.3 grams - 60mm x 40mm x 5mm - $270
e) 53.5 grams - 90mm x 60mm x 4mm - $500 – nice complete slice.
2) End piece:
199.7 grams - 90mm x 55mm x 30mm - $1400 – Main Mass.
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SERICHO, Kenya: Stony-iron (pallasite). Found 2016. Tkw = several tons
I am pleased to be able to offer nice pieces of this, the newest known pallasite. Strange large rocks were known for decades, but it took a couple brothers trying to track down some missing camels to recognize they were meteorites. Anyway, I have a nice selection of thin slices as well as one individual and one end piece. The larger slices are thinner and therefore a bit higher priced per gram than the slightly thicker smaller specimens. Both sizes generally will show some light transmittance through some of the crystals, but the larger, thinner pieces show considerably more. Regardless, this is not a super gemmy pallasite like Esquel in either case. Many of the crystals have been shocked to an interesting dark bluish gray color (I have had a few pieces of Seymchan that had a few rare crystals showing this interesting shock effect). Most pieces I am offering have a mix of orangish, green and bluish gray crystals (the orangish ones being the least common in general). ALL of these pieces are from earlier, fresher surface recovery specimens.
1) Slices:
a) 7.1 grams - 26mm x 24mm x 2.5mm - $90
b) 13.5 grams - 42mm x 27mm x 2.5mm - $170
c) 29.3 grams - 73mm x 50mm x 1.5mm - $440
d) 51.0 grams - 110mm x 80mm x 1mm - $750
e) 104.3 grams - 135mm x 95mm x 1mm - $1500 – complete slice.
f) 153.6 grams - 155mm x 90mm x 1.5mm - $2000 – complete slice.
2) 743.9 gram complete individual as found – 70mm x 70mm x 50mm - $2900
3) 1307.2 gram end piece – 140mm x 90mm x 50mm - $5000
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MONTURAQUI, Chile: Impact, crater glass.
Nope, these are NOT the stuff you’ll find if you do a search on “Monturaqui impact glass” online. That brings up a wide selection of the (relatively) common Impactites from this crater (I still have some of these available for $1/g). THIS material is indeed true impact glass. These are fairly frothy (with much, much smaller air bubbles than the impactites) and they do contain some small rock fragments (again, like impactites) but they are clearly predominantly glass. The impactites are brown to orange, mostly bubbles and rock fragments held together by a bit of black glass. These are a completely different color – having more of a light gray to light pinkish coloration (probably from melting of the rhyolitic lava deposits in the impact site). I have a very small amount of this material. I got it from the finder who recovered a small quantity of these things (with great time and difficulty) in September of 2014.
1) Natural fragments as found:
a) .52 grams - 12mm x 9mm x 6mm - $10
b) .71 grams - 18mm x 9mm x 5mm - $14
c) 1.0 grams - 15mm x 14mm x 5mm - $20
d) 2.0 grams - 20mm x 13mm x 7mm - sold

Please note:
Shipping: For small US orders shipping is still $3. Larger orders are now $6 to $13 (insurance is extra if desired – I’ll look it up if you want it). Overseas prices have gone up A LOT the past couple years. Small Canada orders are now $10 and small overseas orders are $13 (I’ll have to custom quote any larger items/ orders). Thankfully, it seems that the rate for registration (recommended on more valuable overseas orders) has stayed the same - $13.
I do have a new fax machine that seems to work (but I have to answer it and manually turn it on), so overseas people can contact me that way if they must. How ever, for overseas orders, it probably is best to go ahead and use my e-mail brmeteorites@yahoo.com

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- Denver Show Info 2017

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- Denver Show Info 2017

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

Dear Collectors,

Here is the info for the Denver Show later this week.

I should have sent out this info awhile ago. I have been very busy with things and traveling a lot. I will be leaving Wednesday morning (the 6th) and should be getting back home around the 17th or 18th (going to visit a couple people, do some things on the way home).

NEW LOCATION:

As many of you know, the hotel I had been set up at for nearly 30 years tossed out the entire show after last fall’s show. So, going to that old venue you will probably find plenty of parking, maybe a sleeping room but there will be no show. Most of the folks that were set up there have now moved to a new larger, nicer venue some 15 miles East – the Crowne Plaza at I-70 and Chambers road (15500 E. 40th Ave.) The main portion of this show has dealers set up in a huge ballroom, meeting room environment (NOT the old motel room converted into a show room thing). I was offered one of these spaces but held back as I REALLY did NOT want to be in a ballroom show environment (where they flicker the lights at closing and tell everybody, dealers included, that you have ten minutes to get out. I have lost some substantial sales at shows like these because of “poor timing” of closing). Originally, there were to be NO motel room sales rooms PERIOD. I managed to find a workable solution. On the other side of the convention center (west- side) was a small meeting room (called “Frisco”) on the venue map. I asked the new show promoter about it and the response was “we don’t have a “Frisco” (admittedly, this room is somewhat hidden behind a bathroom symbol on the venue maps). It wasn’t that the promoter didn’t know about the room, it is just that she had not thought it worth reserving for the show, really thinking everybody would be MUCH happier closing up at 6 and spending the rest of the day hanging out with friends. Not a bad idea actually and does have some attraction to it I admit. However, I like staying open late because I am often one of the guys those folks that close up earlier come hang out with. My insistence for a “private” space that I could stay open later did end up getting me this room. It also turned out that there were a bunch of other dealers that wanted a similar situation (once word spread that we would indeed be moving the show). The promoter ended up reserving ALL of the meeting rooms on the west- side of the convention center for the show. It also turned out that ALL of them got sucked up in a matter of a couple hours (so I think it will be a pretty hopping “after hours” area). In fact, the demand was so great for “private” selling areas (and I think even the entire convention ball room area was completely filled) that the hotel then allowed the entire lower floor to be taken over by selling rooms (and I think they are now even allowing selling rooms on the second floor to help cover the demand for dealer space at this show). Anyway, part of me wishes I waited and got a room but now I have a more convenient selling space that is more open and easier to set out more material than I could before. So, here are the particulars:

I will be in the “Frisco” meeting room. This is on the west-side of the convention center (for the main ballroom it is best to enter on the East side or you’ll be in for a loooong walk). This is near the hotel lobby area. If you come in through the sliding glass doors under the “Convention Center” sign on the west-side of the building, simply turn to your right immediately and you will be looking in my selling space door. You will likely see some large petrified wood slabs on a rack along the back wall as I am sharing a little bit of the space with a friend that sells such things (his main selling space will be a ground floor hotel room). The show officially runs 9am to 6pm from the 8th (Friday) through the 15th (the next Friday). I, however, will certainly be staying open later (I think 9pm or 10pm depending upon if there are still people around). However, as such, I likely will open a bit later in the morning (in the past, I have found it difficult to get open much before 10am at other shows. And, I have generally found there are not a lot of people earlier in the morning). I also will look into seeing if I can stay open Saturday the 16th if people still seem interested in coming by that day (the promoter has us closed that day as she also works the Merchandise Mart show and is hoping that we’ll go visit that and spend some of the money we made at that show on Saturday and Sunday). Also, on the 15th (that final Friday) I think they are having the COMETS auction and dinner. It is out on the West- side of town (old Wadsworth and 57th – 5695 Yukon St. to be exact). Attending that would probably require me to shut down that day at 6pm. However, if there are lots of people still wandering the show (last minute deals and such) I likely will be late or miss the auction completely, unfortunately (they had considered having the auction in the atrium of the hotel just around the corner from my show room but Dave Bunk offered up his office/ show room for the event).

Well, this show will be a whole new experience (and experiment) for me. Hopefully a successful one. Hope to see some of you there.

Blaine

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

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 207

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

July 11, 2017

Dear collectors,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 206

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 206

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
……………………………………………………LIST 206
June 20, 2017

Dear collectors,
Here is a third offering pulled together from a batch of material I recently got from a collector who has decided to trim his collection a bit.

For this offering (and hopefully most others in the future) I will put a group photo in the photo archives in the brmeteorites_list Yahoo group. It will be creatively titled “List 206”. For those of you that acquire my offerings through the blog posting (done by a friend in Japan – Dirk Ross) the photo will likely be directly connected/ displayed with this particular posting.

(Click on Image to Enlarge)
Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 206

Edeowie Glass, Impact glass, South Australia.
I had never heard of this material until I received this specimen. It is not certain what formed this rare material but it does contain quartz that shows shock effects, strongly hinting at an impact origin (rather than as lightning formed fulgurite, which is the next most popular formation theory). Small spots of this glass are found on top of what looks like burnt/ scorched sediments in the small area where this material is found. The structure of this glass: highly fused top, poorly fused, frothy mid zone down to local dirt and rocks stuck to the bottom, closely resembles pieces of trinitite glass (the stuff formed by the world’s first nuclear explosion). This suggests that, rather than a true impact crater glass, this material likely formed (like trinitite) by a large low-altitude blast – similar to (but perhaps larger) than Tunguska. This interesting piece is pretty much exactly matches the description of a typical specimen of this unusual glass.
3.7 gram fragment as found – 25mm x 16mm x 12mm - $10  SOLD

GRADY (1937), New Mexico: (H3). Found 1937, Tkw = 9.3 kilograms.
Here are three small but quite fresh fragments of this scarce meteorite. Inspecting them with magnification reveals all kinds of light to medium gray chondrules in a light gray matrix. These pieces are all around 10mm x 5mm to 10mm x 9mm in their larger surfaces.
1.17 grams – three fragments - $15

HENBURY IMPACT GLASS, Henbury craters, Australia.
The label with these specimens says “impactite” but these are NOT the usual frothy quasi-glassy impactites that have been available from these craters. These show obvious black glass. The larger (.6 grams – 15mm x 9mm x 6mm) is almost entirely glass, only showing a few small spots of attached orange dirt or rock. Frankly, this specimen looks much like an Irghizite – having a stretched, melt flow look to it. The other piece (.7 grams – 11mm x 9mm x 9mm) looks like a piece of orangish brown rock (the reason it is heavier than the other piece despite being smaller) that has a thick coating of black glass on one side. Interesting items and certainly not the typical “impactites”.
2 pieces in a display container - $25

NWA (unknown): L or LL3.
I sure wish the classification info for this one didn’t get lost. It is obviously something that someone thought was special. They took the time (and high expense) to have this cut with a wire-saw. None the less, this is a really nice specimen for showing chondrules. It is absolutely loaded with them. They come in all kinds of sizes and all kinds of colors. This really reminds me of Wells, Texas (LL3.3) and Ragland, New Mexico (LL3.4). This is also a complete slice of whatever mass it was cut from. This is likely something quite special but priced pretty much like a common LL3 here.
16.8 gram slice – 52mm x 50mm x 3mm - $100

SUEVITE, Nordlingen Ries Craters, Germany.
Here is a slice of this impact breccia from the almost 15 million year old impact crater that was the source of the Moldavites. This contains dark gray areas that are fragments of impact glass, in a matrix of light gray to white (mostly small) fragments of rock. This has epoxy on the back (not visible unless removed from the display box this is in) as I think that this was going to be used for making thin-sections at one point. Actually, I have two specimens to pick from. I am only listing one here but will have both in the “group photo” for this offering. The one that the measurements below are for is for the smaller (and thinner) one on the left in the photo.
4.5 gram rectangular slice in plastic box – 30mm x 20mm x 3mm - $10

TATAHOUINE, Tunisia: HED achondrite (Diogenite). Fell June 27, 1931. Tkw = 13.5+ kilograms.
Tatahouine is strange stuff. It has a really obvious bright green color with gray shock veins running through it. Here are a couple natural pieces in a small plastic display box that look very nice together. One piece (2.1 grams) is fairly flat/ angular and has a face that shows the shock veins very nicely. The other piece (1.8 grams) has a sculpted/ rounded edges shape and shows (on close inspection – a 10X lens works fine) quite a few tiny (around 1mm or under) patches of black fusion crust! A nice display pair.
2 pieces - 3.9 grams total in small display box - $60

ORGUEIL, France: Carbonaceous chondrite (CI1). Fell May 14, 1864. Tkw = 10.5+ kilograms.
Here are some of the “usual” (none of this material is easy to come by) small fragments and crumbs of this really strange material. They look like fragments of charcoal brickettes. I keep hoping that they will come out with some detailed results from landing on that comet awhile ago, as I suspect that those analysis results will likely show strong similarities to this material. Alas, such research work grinds slowly. It did take some years before analysis results from the DAWN mission (now orbiting Ceres) showed us that YES! Most H.E.D. meteorites do likely come from Vesta. Hopefully, we will soon have some information as to whether or not the CI1 stuff really is cometary or not. Anyway, these fragments and bits are in a capsule that is in a plastic display box.
.037 grams of fragments in a capsule in a display box - $90

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale, List 205

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale, List 205

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487                                                                                                                              
……………………………………………………LIST 205

June 6, 2017

Dear collectors,

Here is a second offering pulled from a batch of material I recently got from a collector who has decided to trim his collection a bit.

I am going to try something new with this offering. I have taken a group photo of the items on this list (plus the 190g Wolf Creek just because I mentioned it). I have arranged them in the photo alphabetically from left to right, top to bottom (the Bassikounou is the top left item, then the Chinese Tektites, etc.).

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale, List 205
(Click on Image to Enlarge)

BASSIKOUNOU, Mauritania: (H5). Fell October 16, 2006. Tkw = around 80 kilograms.
Wow! This little piece was obviously picked up right after the fall. It shows heavy, super fresh black primary crust with some hints of orientation (the presence of a “roll-over rim” around one side of the stone). The crust is complete except for one small (around 4mm x 2mm) late fall chip in one part of the roll-over rim that shows a bright white interior. Nice really fresh specimen of this fall.
13.6 gram fresh, complete individual – 25mm x 19mm x 17mm - $80

CHINESE TEKTITES:
Here are three specimens that are indeed quite different from each other in shape and textures. I’ll give a bit of description for each in their individual listings.
16.6 grams irregular. This is my smallest and weirdest shaped piece. I was one of the first people to have Chinese Tektites in the more “recent” times. A Chinese mineral dealer wanted to trade me equal weights of Chinese meteorites for US meteorites (this was back in the days I had lots of different weathered meteorites from Kansas, Texas and such). Of coarse I said “sure”. Next year, he brought a big 50 pound or so box of “meteorites” insisting that I trader him 100 pounds of US meteorites for them. Unfortunately, he had brought me a box of Chinses Tektites. We had some pretty heated discussions as to why I couldn’t give him equal weight of actual meteorites for tektites. Towards the end of the show (this happened in Tucson) we came to some kind of agreement where I ended up with the box of tektites. Not a bad thing. At that time, Chinese tektites were not available anywhere on the market. Another plus was that the things looked completely different than any other tektites on the market. They had really weird shapes, deep fine grooving/ etching texture (on one side anyway. Most, as this piece, had a slightly curved smooth side -  as if they were once part of a large smooth inside sphere that latter broke apart). One person commented that the things looked like some kind of strange “rubble”. Anyway, this is a piece from those days (possibly even that original batch as the previous owner got it from me). I do have some of these “original batch” pieces around here somewhere so if there are more people that want a similar piece to this one after it sells, I’ll try and dig them up and make them available.
16.6 grams irregular shape– 40mm x 25mm x 10mm - $5
b) 36.5gram quasi tear-drop. This one is a long stretched out piece that definitely narrows out towards the tail. It has a good amount of the typical fine deep grooving/ pitting typical for Chinese tektites.
36.5g grams quasi tear-drop – 75mm x 20mm x 15mm - $10
c) 110.9 gram tear drop/ hershey’s kiss. Now this one is really nice! It has a super shape. It is a cross between a tear drop and hershey’s kiss. Overall, it has the distinct tear-drop shape (nice long thin tail) but has a large head concentrated at one end (no gradual thinning on this one).  A really nice piece that I considered keeping myself.
110.9 gram tear-drop/ hershey’s kiss – 80mm x 40mm x 30mm - $50

GOLD BASIN, Arizona: (L4). Found 1995. Tkw = 125+ kilograms.
There were a lot of pieces of this meteorite recovered, but I don’t see many available today. This is supposedly one of (if not the) oldest known U.S. strewn fields – having possibly fallen 20 to 25 thousand years ago. Looking at this piece, you’d never guess that kind of age. This is a nice solid individual/ fragment that has a roughly 45mm x 20mm cut face that shows a nice, quite fresh, mottled gray and brown matrix with quite a lot of metal visible. The exterior is also fairly fresh. This shows several levels of crusting. The heaviest (primary) crust on the very back still shows flow lines. Another surface is completely crusted but has a less smooth, rounded texture so it is not fully developed as the “primary” crust. Two more faces look like they may be old fractured surfaces, though one does seem to show some smoothing so it might (actually both could be) be a very light tertiary crusted surface.
131.6 gram individual with polished face – 45mm x 30mm x 30mm - $130

IMPACTITE, Monturaqui crater, Chile.
Here are two pieces in one display container. One is a 7.2 gram complete piece that is natural as found. The other is a small (1.5 gram) cut fragment (cut face is about 15mm x 12mm) that shows the melted/ brecciated structure plus at least one clear nickel-iron bleb (a bit of the iron meteorite that formed the crater).
8.7 grams: two specimens. One natural, one cut - $15

PHILIPPINITE: Tektite from the Philippine Islands.
This is likely from the Rizal provence (making it a “Rizalite”). It shows lots of the wide/ deep grooves of tektites from this area. However, this one is a completely odd shape rather than the usual round specimens. There are some areas of “modern” chipping on one end, but the bulk of the specimen is natural ancient surfaces (so it is not merely from a weirdly broken originally round specimen). Interesting piece.
20.9 grams – 40mm x 25mm x 20mm - $20

SAHARA (98280): likely (L6).
Unfortunately, this one never got fully reported. That is kind of a shame as this is actually a really nice specimen. It is quite fresh. The exterior shows nice dark (all be it a little dirty in spots) gray/ chocolate brown fusion crust (with only light wind-polishing). The interior has a great breccia structure showing light brown angular to somewhat rounded clasts (of all sizes up to around 1 centimeter or so) surrounded by black shock veins/ melt material. I sold a couple similar (but NWA) end pieces in Tucson for closer to $2/g.
53.8 gram end piece – 40mm x 25mm x 20mm - $60

WOLF CREEK, Australia: Found 1947.
Shale balls (oxidized iron meteorite) and fragments is about the only thing you will ever see from this crater. I think only a kilogram or so of fresh metal was found. This is a nice little basically complete shale ball as found. This was originally bought from me years ago. I have not had a lot of pieces of Wolf Creek over the years but far fewer small piece like this that weren’t just angular fragments that came from a larger ball that got broken apart. A quick check shows that I offered some larger similar pieces on a list a little over a year ago. Further checking shows that I have only one specimen remaining from that offering (a 190g complete shale ball for $200). This is a nice little piece for someone that wants a small yet still rounded complete shale ball.
25.5 gram shale ball as found – 30mm x 25mm x 15mm - $40

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 204 - Dalgaranga, New Orleans and more

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 204 - Dalgaranga, New Orleans and more

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
……………………………………………………LIST 204

May 16, 2017

Dear Collectors,
Here is a small selection of some interesting things I recently got from a collector who has decided to trim his collection a bit.

ALLENDE, Mexico: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3.2). Fell February 8, 1969.
This is a nice complete black crusted individual. It does have some of the edge chipping of the crust as is the case with pretty much every Allende I have seen, but quite a bit less than most. This piece is mounted (using poster tack maybe) in a small plastic display box.
12.6 gram complete individual – 29mm x 20mm x 15mm - $150

DALGARANGA, Australia: Stony-iron (Mesosiderite). Found 1923. Tkw = 10kg.
I have not had a piece of Dalgaranga in a long time and much of the stuff I had earlier was probably the most commonly available shale/ oxide fragments. This one is not oxide. It has a brown rusted exterior but I am certain that if one were inclined to do so, cutting it open would reveal a fresh mesosiderite interior. However I certainly would suggest NOT doing that as this is a labeled Nininger specimen AND comes with its proper American Meteorite Lab label. It is interesting that on this card it has the “total known weight” as only “1.1kg of unoxidized”. I know more has been found since this label was made but I do think that the unoxidized stuff is quite rare.
4.3gram Nininger labeled fragment – 15mm x 15mm x 5mm - $200

HENBURY, Australia: Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1931.
This is an assortment of better than average specimens. They all have obvious shrapnel shapes/ characteristics (not the usual rounded but semi-flat lumps many Henburys are). The two largest are particularly nice (the 52.3gram one has a larger scale nice thumb-printed kind of sculpting to it). These are all natural as found and priced a bit below what I have seen other similar Henbury specimens go for at shows recently.
1) Natural individuals:
a) 11.4 grams – 30mm x 13mm x 9mm - $19
b) 43.3 grams – 38mm x 23mm x 10mm - $69
c) 52.6 grams – 42mm x 30mm x 11mm - $82
d) 62.4 grams – 50mm x 30mm x 10mm - $94

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: (H5). Fell September 23, 2003. Tkw = 19,265 grams.
This stone fell completely through a house. After the fall, the home-owner scraped up the fragments and bits of meteorite he found laying about the house (that had broken off as the meteorite passed through floors and walls). He wouldn’t let anyone investigate the situation for some time after the fall (more than a week I think) and claimed that the small hand full or so of fragments were all that there was to this event (not bothering to think about the ramifications of the bowling ball plus size hole through the floor). Anyway, there was indeed a substantial amount more material (the main mass) waiting to be found under the house. Unfortunately, the meteorite broke a pipe as it fell (I am not certain what kind of pipe but I have my suspicions I don’t really want to fully know) so water was spilling into the hole, onto the meteorite for however long it was before it was finally recovered. So, most of this material spent time in water and mud, unfortunately. I sold a fair amount of this material years ago (probably back in 2004 and 2005 maybe) and I recall that pretty much all the pieces looked like this one – angular fragments that show a fair amount of light orange coloration from rust staining. One plus to this piece (that many of the smaller pieces I sold those years ago lacked) is that this one does have a patch of fusion crust (12mm x 9mm) on one end. I think this piece is priced pretty close to what I was selling those earlier pieces for years ago.
7.0 gram fragment with crust – 20mm x 17mm x 11mm - $400

NUEVO MERCURIO, Mexico: (H5). Fell December 15, 1978. Tkw = 9+ kilograms.
I am pretty certain that Nuevo was my very first crusted stone. It would have been a nice fresh individual as this is but about a bit smaller than this one (got it from Robert Haag back when I was a starving college student). Anyway, this stone is a nice individual that is almost completely covered in nice thick black fusion crust (that shows some contraction cracking as most Nuevos do). There is one small (7mm x 3mm) late fall chip on one end (that is actually a really, really light secondary crust if look with good magnification) that shows a medium gray interior that has an interesting sandy texture to it.
8.5 gram complete individual – 25mm x 15mm x 12mm - $100

SIKHOTE-ALIN, Russia: Coarsest octahedrite (IIB). Fell February 12, 1947.
This is a really nice shrapnel fragment that has been only lightly cleaned so it has a more original as found dark chocolate brown coloration rather than the black and shin metal look of the typical shrapnel pieces available. This has a nice classic torn and stretch-marked shape and surface textures. I think this is the largest Sikhote I have (of any shape, texture or cleaning level).
602.9 gram shrapnel fragment – 95mm x 65mm x 28mm - $450

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 203 - Last of Tucson Meteorites And More

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 203 - Last of Tucson Meteorites And More

Blaine Reed
P.O. Box 1141
Delta, CO 81416
Ph/fax (970) 874-1487
……………………………………………………LIST 203

April 19, 2017

Dear collectors,

This is going out a day later than it was really supposed to. I was out of town (for 5 days) visiting the Denver Spring show (among other things). I got to measure what will be my new show room for the fall show so now I have to try and figure out how to fit things in (making it effective and comfortable with the tables and such I have). I got home fairly late Monday and found a huge pile of things needing to be dealt with (nothing slows down while I am gone, unfortunately, it piles up just as quickly as when I am home). I put in a 14 hour day yesterday in an attempt to get caught up (almost, but not completely, there yet) and had no time to pull together and send out an offering. Anyway, here it is, all be it a day late.

ADMIRE, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1881.
Here is a nice (but somewhat wedged) complete slice of the more typical Admire texture (lots of olivine of all sizes and colors along with chromite and sulfides). This, like the amazing large olivine cluster slice I had (and sold) on an earlier offering, was handled by Mike Miller before I got it. I cannot have quite the same confidence in this piece as the large olivine chunk one as I have no idea the condition of the main mass it was cut from after sitting unprotected in Arkansas for a number of years. However, I did reach Steve and he said that this slice was cut at the same time as the others (he guessed that it was actually closer to 6 ½ years ago now). Regardless, the fact that this held up as an intact slice long enough in a humid environment to be processed by Mike (dried and coated with opticon and etched on one side) it certainly can’t be too terrible of a piece (my very first piece of Admire I got from Robert Haag many, many years ago fell apart into a pile of crystals and orange goo in under a year – and that was in a fully air-tight case with desiccant. Thankfully, I salvaged a nice clear crystal and had it faceted – my very first space gem stone, which I still have). What I am certain of though is for the months I have had this sitting around here (with no special care) it has remained completely rust spot free.
795.5 gram complete slice – 220mm x 180mm x 5mm - $2500

AGOUDAL, Morocco: Coarsest octahedrite (IIAB). Found 2000.
Here are a few small (but generally larger than I have been able to offer in the past) pieces I got as part of a small collection of irons I picked up in Tucson. These are all wire brushed clean, natural shaped individuals. The smallest and largest have nice sculpted shapes. The mid sized piece does have some sculpting, but not as classic as the other two (and is priced a bit lower accordingly).
1) Wire brushed individuals:
a) 19.1 grams – 40mm x 15mm x 10mm - $19
b) 29.7 grams – 28mm x 25mm x 15mm - $25
c) 41.8 grams – 45mm x 20mm x 12mm - $40

GEBEL KAMIL, Egypt: Ni-rich ataxite (ungrouped). Found 2008.
Here is a nice large natural shrapnel fragment from this now famous impact crater. This does not have much in the way of thin bent, twisted edges but it does have the classic shape and lots of stretch/ tear marks on its surfaces. This material has become really hard to get as the Russians (who were the ones that either had the smarts/ guts or the stupidity to go to the remote and potentially dangerous area) are no longer allowed to go to Egypt (this is putting a serious crimp in the supplies of Libyan Desert Glass as well). I have this particular large specimen priced right at what I was last quoted for a wholesale lot of Gebel pieces the last time I asked (this past Tucson I think). The folks that usually are a main supplier of this stuff had NONE to offer at the Denver Spring show this year so I suspect that there is very little (if any) of this material available from the original sources these days.
1423.4 gram natural shrapnel fragment – 140mm x 70mm x 35mm - $1000

GOMEZ, Texas: Ordinary chondrite (L6). Found 1974. Tkw = 27 kilograms.
Here are a few small part slices from a larger piece I sold to another collector some time ago. They cut the piece roughly in half and kept the larger portion. The other side was cut into smaller specimens such as I have here. I think all of the other pieces have already found homes in other collections. This meteorite is quite fresh showing a fair amount of metal grains in a generally orange to brown mottled matrix. There were some shock melt areas in this stone that were more of a darker green/gray color. It turns out that the smallest piece here was cut from just such an area. The largest piece here has fusion crust along 40mm or so of one of its edges.
1) Part slices:
a) 7.7 grams – 26mm x 14mm x 7mm - $23
b) 19.3 grams – 32mm x 25mm x 7mm - $58
c) 53.0 grams – 55mm x 45mm x 7mm - $159

NWA (998), Morocco: Martian (Nakhalite). Found before September 2001. Tkw = 456 grams.
This is, by far, the largest piece of Nakhlite (of any name or number) I have ever offered. This is a (quite solid) cut fragment/ block that has fusion crust covering its largest surface. NWA (998) is a bit more special than “common” (as if there is really any such thing) Nakhlites and is classified as an anomalous orthopyroxene-bearing Nakhlite. Even more importantly, carbonate minerals that were deposited in this meteorite by water while it was still on Mars have been found throughout specimens of this stone. Unfortunately, this is the last piece of this rare material my source has available (and does not want it broken up) and I only have a few small scraps (.026g to .728g) remaining available in my inventory.
23.3 gram cut, crusted fragment – 27mm x 25mm x 15mm - $23,000

PLAINVIEW (1917), Texas: (H5) breccia. Found 1917, may have fallen 1903.
Here are a couple pieces that were cut from a piece found by Dr. Carleton Moore! He was on a lecture circuit through the area in 2004 (according to his recollection). He stopped in the Plainview area and got permission to look for meteorites for a little while one day. He realized the dream we all have when starting a hunt – quickly finding a meteorite! I am not certain the reasons (a researcher needing a known later find year specimen perhaps) but he cut this stone up recently (keeping the larger end piece for himself). The interior is the classic (H5) breccia Plainview typically shows and, despite being found years after the fall, is still very fresh. I have two specimens available: a complete (but wedge) slice and a really nice end piece that stands up nicely on its own and has nice dark chocolate brown to black crust covering its back-side.
a) 13.8 gram complete slice – 45mm x 30mm x 3mm - $140
b) 91.2 gram end piece – 42mm x 35mm x 20mm - $900

SILVER ANCIENT METEORITE COIN: Antiochas I 280-261BC.
Here is a fantastic super sharp and strong detailed silver version of the bronze ancient meteorite coins I offered on my last mailed offering (list 202 for those of you that receive my e-mail offerings only). I quickly (in one day) sold out of the dozen or so I had of those so I contacted the guy I got the first batch from to see if I could get any more. I was successful (so I do, once again, have some of the $75 bronze coins as offered on that last list if any of you are interested). He included this beauty in the package. I am certain that this is in pretty much as minted condition. Bronze coins were the day to day currency in anceint times whereas silver (and especially gold) coins were generally so valuable that they were often hidden/ buried as longer term savings. Thankfully, this coin was apparently preserved in a sealed container (usually a clay pot) so it was fully preserved. This coin is roughly 18mm in diameter and weighs 4.08 grams. It clearly shows the head of Apollo (in very high relief) on the obverse and the well-centered reverse having Apollo sitting on the Omphalos of Delphi (supposedly a meteorite) with an arrow in one hand and the other hand resting on a bow (all details being super sharp).
Silver ancient “meteorite” coin - $350