Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 159

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 159

Blaine Reed

P.O. Box 1141

Delta, CO 81416

Ph/fax (970) 874-1487

brmeteorites@yahoo.com

…………………………………………………LIST 159

August 19, 2014

Dear collectors,

Here is the second batch of pieces that came in with the “old collection”. I also got a few more of the rare witnessed fall fragments/ crumbs in as well and have listed them here to have a more typical 7 or 8 piece offering. 

ARCHIE, Missouri: (H6). Fell August 10, 1932. Tkw = 5.1 kilograms.

This is yet another of my small scraps that seems that very little is “out”. In the Catalog of Meteorites, it seems that a little over 4860 grams of this is listed as being tied up in museum collections.

                .038 gram fragment in capsule – 4mm x 2mm x 2mm - $20

                .13 gram fragment – 8mm x 5mm x 2mm - $50

CANAKKALE, Turkey: (L6). Fell July 1964. Tkw = 4+ kilograms.

This is listed as “several pieces found, the largest weighing 4kg”, implying that a fair amount of this might be out there. However, the collections lists in the Catalog of Meteorites shows that only about 600 grams is preserved in museum collections. I don’t recall ever seeing this name before, so I don’t think that much of the “missing material” has made it into collector’s hands.

                Small fragment in capsule – about 2.5mm x 2mm x 1.5mm - $20

                .058 gram fragment – 5mm x 3mm x 2mm - $40

GLORITTA MOUNTAIN, New Mexico: (Pallasite). Found 1884.

Here is a nice complete individual as found. It has some nice pitting but I cannot distinctly make out any olivine so I’d be hesitant to call this anything more than an iron individual. Regardless, this does have some nice areas of still fresh and flow-lined fusion crust. I remember before Sikhote-Alin came out, this meteorite was the ONLY way a collector could have honest real iron fusion crust for their collections. The previous owner got this piece from Bethany Sciences in January of 1994. This particular specimen is actually the piece Ron used as the picture piece in his catalog at the time. I have a copy of this catalog that will go with this specimen. This also comes with the original Bethany Sciences “Certificate of Authenticity”, though this has been (long ago) hand corrected from a weight of 54.6 grams to 45.6 grams which still seems to be a bit wrong as I keep coming up with 45.1 grams for this specimen.

                45.1 gram complete individual – 45mm x 18mm x 16mm - $650

HENBURY, Australia: Medium octahedrite (IIIAB). Found 1931.

Here is a somewhat larger than I typically get specimen. It is nothing special, unfortunately, being mostly a roughly flattened oval shape with only soft thumb-prints. It still has its “as found” appearance - a nice orange brown color. Not a bad piece, just not a sculpture, and priced accordingly.

                71.5 gram natural individual – 45mm x 30mm x 12mm - $110

MOUNT VERNON, Kentucky: (Pallasite). Found 1868, Tkw = 159 kilograms.

The Murchison on my last offering was my big plus surprise in the collection, this one was my big minus surprise unfortunately. I was told it was 13.5 grams and measured 43mm x 36mm x 2mm and was “fresh”. Well, I got 6.4 grams measuring roughly 30mm x 20mm x 2mm that is quite rusty. I think that this would be repairable BUT it came to me in 4 pieces that don’t seem to fit back together completely (and I am usually pretty good at puzzles). This does still have some large crystals that pass light nicely (one looks like it might produce a couple nice but small faceted gems if one were so inclined). I’m selling this one at a loss but someone out there will be able to add a new tough name to their pallasite collection for fairly cheap. The previous owner purchased this specimen from Robert Haag in January of 1994.

                6.4 gram broken, oxidized slice - $100-SOLD

ST. MICHEL, Finland: (L6). Ell July 12, 1910. Tkw = 17 kilograms.

After the last piece I had sold in seconds and many people wanted it (guess I priced it too cheap), I asked the source of that if they had any more. This is what I got. Not a “large” slice like the last one, more like the fragments of other rare falls I have been getting. Anyway, this is a lot of fragments from small crumbs up to around 9mm x 4mm x 2mm. Most of the bigger pieces show nice shock veining as well.

                .42 grams of fragments and crumbs - $15 -SOLD

SIKHOTE-ALIN, Russia: Coarsest octahedrite (IIB). Fell February 12, 1947.

This is a complete fusion crusted individual that also happens to be oriented. It is not the perfect dome type of oriented but well oriented none the less. This has a general conical shape (obviously pointed front, generally flat back) that shoes a few elongated (some call “flower petal”) thumbprints on the front and a distinct sharp roll-over rim running completely around the back.

                30.3 gram oriented individual – 30mm x 22mm x 12mm - $75

TISSINT,, Morocco: Martian (Shergottite). Olivine-phyric. Fell July 18, 2011. Tkw = over 7 kilograms.

Here is an amazing piece I got from Matt for a potential customer a month or so ago (that person decided to take a sliced Martian instead of this fragment). It was the Viking lander’s readings of the Martian atmosphere back in the 1970’s that gave us the biggest clue that these meteorites (the SNCs) were from Mars. Those readings showed that gasses trapped inside melt pockets in shock veins of these stones isotopically matched the Martian atmosphere. This particular specimen is incredible for showing these melt pockets. Probably better than 30% of this piece is melt vein material. Even better still, this melt veining is full of gas pockets. Many of these can be easily seen with your eye as the interiors of these pockets is super shiny, compared to the duller black of the general melt material. I am quite certain that this specimen has many more unbroken melt pockets (that likely still contain Martian atmosphere inside them) are yet hiding in the interior of this piece.

                1.6 gram fragment with heavy shock melt veins – 13mm x 11mm x 7mm - $1200

Blane Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 158 - some old collection rarities

Blane Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 158 - some old collection rarities

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

…………………………………………………LIST 158
August 5, 2014

Dear collectors,

Well here it is right after the Creede show (I haven’t even finished unpacking yet) and here I am sending out a list after I said I wasn’t going to have one. Well, a few days after I posted that statement, a collection of mostly older (purchase time not necessarily fall date) rarities fell into my lap. So, now I do have some new material to offer. This collection was from an old time collector that has decided to thin the herd and raise a little cash. This material will be spread out over two lists, as there is more cataloging, etc. work that needs to be done (alone with unpacking, catching up from being gone or 5 days). Anyway, here is the first offering.

BRENHAM, Kansas: (Pallasite). Found 1882.
Here is a natural individual that does indeed look just as it was likely found. Regardless, this one will be sold at a loss, unfortunately. The previous owner was apparently led to believe that this piece was personally found by Nininger and paid over $300 for the thing many years ago. I suppose it is possible that it may have indeed been found by Nininger but I have no way to support/ prove this. It does not show any hints of ever having a Nininger number on it anywhere that I can see (as I was led to believe it might have). Regardless, it comes with a Bethany Sciences “Certificate of Authenticity” (that also does not mention anything about this being a personal Niniger recovery either, unfortunately). Not a bad little specimen actually, just not worth anything near as much as it would be if it were Niniger numbered.
28.3 gram natural individual – 30mm x 25mm x 20mm - $110

GEORGIAITE: Tektite form Georgia.
I can’t recall if or when was the last time I had one of these to sell. The previous owner got this from Bethany Sciences in 1995 (and this comes with the original Bethany Sciences certificate of authenticity that came with it). This piece is ½ of a thin oval/ disk (the straight break on one edge is ancient). This piece does not have much or surface features, only some fine, shallow pitting. However, its thinness gives you a BIG surface area for the weight and shows the light olive green color fantastically.
5.5 gram individual as found – 35mm x 20mm x 5mm - $500-SOLD

HUGOTON, Kansas: (H5). Ound 1927. Tkw = 355.6 kilograms.
This is one of Nininger’s biggest individual rock recoveries (I know, Bondoc was bigger). Interestingly, I don’t recall having a piece of this quite famous meteorite before (at least not anytime remotely recently). From The Catalog of Meteorites collections data, it does seem that most of this (over 325kg anyway) is tied up in museum collections, many of which list surprisingly small pieces of this for their collections for such a big find. This piece is Nininger numbered and comes with a couple old labels; one a simple typed label and the other from Excalibur Mineral Company.
9.27 gram Nininger numbered fragment – 30mm x 20mm x 10mm - $250 --SOLD

IRGHIZITE: Zamanshin crater, Russia.
This is a larger than usual bent quasi tear drop shaped piece. It is also smoother than most but still shows a good number of the micro-tektites (.5mm to 1mm beads) stuck to its surface. The previous owner paid $100 for the thing from Bethany Sciences back in 1997. This comes with the “Certificate of Authenticity” that originally came with it.
2.0 gram individual – 22mm x 20mm x 4mm - $30--SOLD

MURCHISON, Australia: Cabonaceous (CM2). Fell September 28, 1969.
This piece is nice enough that I am tempted to keep it. It was the best surprise in the collection for me (nice after the several “let downs”). It was sold to me as a “fragment with some crust” Boy does it have crust, something over 60% of its surface would be my guess/ estimate. In fact, this would be better described as ½ of an individual. This thing is also very fresh. It certainly did not sit out long after the fall. This piece was long ago purchased from Robert Haag and still has Roberts info card (all though folded) with it.
7.73 gram ½ individual – 20mm x 20mm x 15mm - $1100--SOLD

PLAINVIEW (1917), Texas: (H5), brecciated. Found 1917.
This is a nice part slice (one cut edge) that was purchased from Robert Haag in March of 1986. It has lots of fresh metal and troilite in a mottled tan and brown brecciated matrix. There is nice black fusion crust along about 2/3 of the uncut edge.
48.8 gram part slice – 65mm x 30mm x 6mm - $200

WELLS, Texas: (LL3.3). Found 1985, recognized 1996. Tkw = 4135 grams.
This wedged part slice was purchased from Alan Lang in August of 1998. It comes with two labels. One is hand written by the previous owner and the other looks to be computer generated that looks like it could be an old Lang’s label (that had the name cut off maybe). Anyway, thanks to the many equally or more primitive LL chondrites coming out of NWA, the price on this piece is less than what it sold for back in 1998 (which was $150, according to the previous owner).
6.4 gram part slice – 30mm x 14mm x 5mm - $100--SOLD

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 157 - More Small Rarities

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 157 - More Small Meteorite Rarities

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

…………………………………………………LIST 157

July 22, 2014

Dear collectors,

Here is yet another offering of generally small but often quite rare items. This will probably be my last list until late August as I am out of “new” material for the moment and I will be traveling a bit in early August.

Part of that travel will be the Creede Show August 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This is quite a nice small show (actually, it is getting fairly large) and has a great selection of all kinds of things including fossils, minerals, rocks, lapidary supplies, and of coarse meteorites. This is certainly not a show that is all jewelry as most public “retail” shows have devolved to these days. I know a few collectors have threatened to visit this year (it’s a great place to escape the heat). If others of you think you might come, let me know what things you’d like me to bring.

ALLENDE, Mexico: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3.2). Fell February 8, 1969.
This is a bag containing several small cut fragments. Nothing special but certainly good for micros or resale. These range in size from about 5mm x 5mm to around 5mm x 12mm.
5 fragments totaling 1.8+ grams - $12

FORKSVILLE, Virginia: (L6). Fell July 16, 1924. Tkw = 6067 grams.
It was reported that 4 stones from this fall were recovered. According to the Catalog of Meteorites, pretty much all of this one is in museum collections (though it is certainly possible that some has been traded out since the Catalog’s publication in 2000. All 3 pieces here are fragments.
a) .015 gram fragment – 3mm x 2mm x 2mm - $15 -- SOLD
b) .025 gram fragment – 3mm x 2.5mm x 2mm - $25 -- SOLD
c) .137 gram fragment – 7mm x 3mm x 3mm - $60 -- SOLD

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: (L6). Fell November 1959. Tkw = around 236 grams.
There is no fall info for this one, just a report of its olivine mineralogy. Regardless, this is probably the rarest (from a total known weight) fall I have had in recent history. As there was no report about this fall, I can only go by the pieces listed in museum collections in the Catalog of Maeteroties. That list shows only 4 museums with pieces totaling 236.2 grams! These pieces are fragments in a capsule.
a) .020 gram fragment – 2mm x 1.5mm x 1mm - $25
b) .146 gram fragment – 7mm x 5mm x 2mm - $100

MERUA, India: (H5). Fell August 30, 1920. Tkw = 71.4 kg.
It is reported that 6 stones fell, with the largest being 56.7kg. I thought that this might be well distributed, given the large total weight listed. However, it seems that right around 71kg is listed as being in museum collections so very little had gotten out at the time the Catalog o Meteorites was published.
a) fragment (around 3mm x 2mm x 2mm) in capsule - $10
b) .245 gram fragment – 6mm x 6mm x 4mm - $50 -- SOLD

MIGHEI, Ukraine: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM2). Fell June 18, 1889. Tkw = 8+ kg.
This is the meteorite that gives the CM’s the M after carbonaceous. I have had super fine powder of this fall in the past but I can’t recall having actual (all though small) fragments (at least at no time recently). I tried to do some research on the value of this stuff but came up with nothing. Sooo, I am just going to guess (but high maybe?) on this one. The largest piece comes in a small research vial that is then inside a bottle labeled “Mighei Meteorite ~ .45g USSR”.
a) .013 grams – 10 small fragments in a capsule - $20
b) .026 grams – 2 fragments in a capsule - $40
c) .043 gram cut fragment – 4mm x 3mm x 3mm - $75
d) .08 gram cut fragment – 5mm x 4mm x 4mm - $140
e) .117 gram fragment – 6mm x 5mm x 4mm - $175 -- SOLD

OCHANSK, Russia: (H4), brecciated. Fell August 30, 1887. Tkw = 500+kg.
This is a lot of fragments in a capsule. The largest piece is around 5mm x 5mm x 4mm in size. Total weight is around .2g or so.
.20g fragments in a capsule - $15

RANGALA, India: (L6), veined. Fell December 29, 1937. Tkw = 3224.5 grams.
22 fragments are reported to have fallen. This is yet another item that, not only was very little recovered, but pretty close to all that was seems to be listed in museum collections. All I have is a few small fragments, so my offering won’t be changing much other than giving a few collectors the chance to add this “new” name to their collection.
a) small fragment (around 2mm x 1.5mm x 1.5mm) in a capsule - $10
b) larger fragment (around 3mm x 2mm x 1.5mm) in a capsule - $15 -- SOLD
c) .155 grams of fragments and crumbs in a capsule - $50 -- SOLD

SHALKA, India: Achondrite (Diogenite). Fell November 30, 1850. Tkw = 3.6+ kg.
This fall is interesting in that, supposedly, an immense stone (around 3 feet across) fell but only around 8 pounds was preserved. I had a couple pieces of this in Tucson (can’t remember what I priced them at) but they, not surprisingly, sold before I could offer them on a list. I have around 5 pieces total (all fragments) this time and I think these will be the last I will see (at least from this source). The largest piece is in a small round, labeled “box” that all these pieces came to me in.
a) .15 grams – 5mm x 5mm x 4mm - $15 -- SOLD
b) .29 grams – 7mm x 6mm x 5mm - $30 -- SOLD
c) .53 grams – 9mm x 7mm x 5mm - $50 -- SOLD
d) .65 grams – 10mm x 7mm x 6mm - $75 -- SOLD

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 156

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 156

Blaine Reed

P.O. Box 1141

Delta, CO 81416

Ph/fax (970) 874-1487

Brmeteorites@yahoo.com

…………………………………………………LIST 156

July 8, 2014

Dear collectors,

Here are a few more interesting items (many names I have never seen before). From the lot I received a day or so before my last offering in June. Most of these are certainly NOT cheap on a price per gram level. These were basically priced as a specimen, add a difficult (or nearly impossible) to obtain new name to your collection way. It was hard to guess a “fair” price on most o this material. I am certain that I have gotten some of these wrong on both sides (some too expensive and some, like the St. Michel from the last list (which sold in seconds and had more than 12 people desperately wanting the piece) probably too cheap. Anyway, I hope there is something here for everyone.

FLORENCE, Texas. (H3), brecciated. Fell January 21, 1922. Tkw = 3640 grams.

This is one I had to look up. I don’t recall ever seeing a piece of this one. Only one stone fell and it seems that the material has found deep hiding places since. Both of the pieces I have here look like they have at least some crust. Under magnification, this is quite interesting. It looks to be a loose conglomeration of lots of tiny chindrules. Wish I had a bigger piece to look at this way.

                a) .027 gram fragment – 3mm x 3mm x 2mm - $20-SOLD

                b) .265 gram cut fragment – 7mm x 5mm x 4mm - $100-SOLD

GERGENTI, Italy: (L6), veined. Fell February 10, 1853. Tkw = 16.7+kg.

Here is one that looks well distributed, amongst the museums anyway. However, I don’t think much of this one has gotten into collector’s hands. I don’t recall ever seeing a piece. The museum collection lists in the Catalog of Meteorites looks to add up quite close to the reported total known. Anyway, yet another “may never see it again” thing. The piece I have here are all just small fragments.

a)       small fragment (around .01g or so) – 2mm x 2mm x 2mm - $10-SOLD

b)       .042 gram fragment – 5mm x 3mm x 2mm - $20-SOLD

c)       .065 gram fragment – 4mm x 3mm x 3mm - $30-SOLD

LIMERICK, Ireland: (H5) veined. Fell September 10, 1813. Tkw = 48.1 kg.

There once was an man from Cass, who’s ….. Never mind. That one would get me in to trouble with someone out there (not “family” material. I can’t help but think of such things when I see this meteorite’s name. I don’t think that has been all that often over the years however. Anyway, this is one of the older falls I have had and probably in fairly high demand as such. These are all small fragments in a capsule. As you will see, I finally gave up weighing all the tiny fragments that came in as part of this collection. The torsion balance I use to weight these things is slow and cumbersome (but very accurate usually) and, for most of these things, the weight does not really matter as they are being sold as specimens and not by weight.

a)       Small fragment (around 2mm x 1.5mm x 1mm) in capsule - $10-SOLD

b)       Medium fragment (around 3.5mm x 2mm x 1mm) in capsule - $15-SOLD

c)       Large fragment (around 4mm x 3mm x 2mm) in capsule - $25-SOLD

MONROE, North Carolina: (H4), brecciated. Fell October 31, 1849. Tkw = 8.6kg.

I think I had a small fragment or two of this some months ago. I can’t recall if I put it on a list of if it sold immediately to collectors back east. Anyway, here are a few small fragments and crumbs.

a)       small fragment (around 2mm x 2mm x 1mm) in capsule - $10-SOLD

b)       .03 grams of crumbs in a capsule - $20-SOLD

c)       .275 gram cut fragment – 8mm x 4mm x 4mm - $80-SOLD

MURRAY, Kentucky: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM2). Fell September 20, 1950. Tkw = 12.6kg.

Years ago (20 or so perhaps), I had more of and easier access to this meteorite than Murchison. I really have had very few pieces since. Here I have only one substantial fragment and then a capsule of small fragments (around 1mm to around 4mm in size).

a)       .15 grams of small fragments in a capsule - $30-SOLD

b)       1.39 gram fragment – 17mm x 9mm x 8mm - $280-SOLD

SENA, Spain: (H4), brecciated. Fell November 17, 1773. Tkw = around 4kg.

This is one of the oldest falls I have had in a long time. In fact, looking over the falls by date in listed in Meteorites A to Z, about the only fall I see listed from earlier that I know I have had a piece of is Ensisheim! So, this fall is the second oldest I have ever had. To add even more to the excitement, this is quite rare in museum collections. There are a number of museums that have substantial pieces of this but a few have less (sometimes far less) than a gram! In fact, the largest piece I have here is over 3 times the size listed in the Monig Collection and around 1.4 times the size of piece the British Museum (The Natural History Museum, London more technically) has listed in their collection! These specimens are all fragments.

a)       small fragment (around 1.5mm x 1mm x 1mm) in capsule - $15

b)       larger fragment (around 2.5mm x 2mm x 1.5mm) in capsule - $25

c)       .097 gram fragment – 5mm x 5mm x 2mm - $100

d)       .347 gram fragment – 8mm x 6mm x 4mm - $340

SHELBURNE, Canada: (H5), veined, brecciated. Fell August 13, 1904. Tkw = 18.6kg.

It has been awhile since I have had a Canadian meteorite and I am sure like those in the past, these will probably end up going back to Canada (or there possibly will be some upset Canadian collectors who missed out by being just a little too slow to respond). Anyway, as with most of what I have offered recently, these are small fragments.

a)       .025 gram fragments (3 pieces) in capsule – $10-SOLD

b)       .13 gram fragment – 5mm x 4mm x 3mm - $30-SOLD

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 155

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale- List 155

Blaine Reed

P.O. Box 1141

Delta, CO 81416

Ph/fax (970) 874-1487

…………………………………………………LIST 155

June 24, 2014

Dear collectors,

Here is a small offering of some interesting items I got a few days ago. I know, this list should have gone out last week but I did not have this new material (or much of anything new for that matter). I will also likely be missing the next scheduled offering time (July 1^st) as I will be leaving town a day or two later. I’ll be gone for the long holiday weekend and should be back home around July 8^th.

ABEE, Canada: Enstatite chondrite (EH4), imb. Fell June 9, 1952. Tkw = 107kg.

Here are a few small slices (actually, the smaller pieces are more like little bars with polished edges) or those of you that want a piece of this rare and important meteorite in your collection with out spending a fortune. These piece are all very fresh and show lots of metal and brecciation (even on the small ones). The “big” one is very nice (such that I was tempted to hang on to it for my micro collection).

a)       .22 gram slice – 8mm x 3mm x 2mm - $15

b)       .56 gram slice – 12mm x 4mm x 3mm - $30

c)       1.44 gram slice – 13mm x 11mm x 3mm - $75

ALLENDE, Mexico: (CV3). Fell February 8, 1969.

Here is a super fresh broken fragment that has some patches of crust (around 30mm x 10mm and another around 12mm x 10mm). Not much to look at honestly, but it might be a good piece to make some nice small slices (or thin-sections) from. The rumor I got with this piece is that the researcher that it had it years ago got it from Dr. King. Now way to prove that at this point, but this piece is fresh enough to make that story more than believable.

                30.9 gram fragment with some crust – 30mm x 28mm x 20mm - $250

KLAMATH FALLS, Oregon: Specimen bottle.

I got excited over seeing this one in the “collection” as I have never had a piece of Klamath Falls before. It seems I still haven’t. There were two small cut fragments (and some powder) in a small bottle that is labeled “Klamath Co. Museum” and gives an (old) address. This was then in a bag with a card labeled “Klamath Falls”. However, close inspection revealed that this had a some what grainy texture to it (Not something you want to see in an iron meteorite). I checked it with a magnet and, sure enough, it did not stick, My XRF says that this is mostly copper (around 60%) with arsenic (17%) and lead (11%) and a bunch of other stuff. So, not a meteorite but the bottle is cool. This was from an old research collection and I suppose it is possible that the person who had this years ago was working on something from the area (that the Klamath Falls Museum had) that was not a meteorite. No telling now.

                “Klamath Falls” museum labeled bottle containing two mineral fragments - $20

MBALE, Uganda: Ordinary chondrite (L5/6). Fell August 14, 1992. Tkw = 108+ kg.

This was readily available years ago but I rarely see it these days. None the less, it is still among the cheapest of witnessed falls. This is just a nice fragment with a polished face (curved though. I think someone simply polished out a naturally broken edge as opposed to cutting first). This has some crust – an area around 12mm x 11mm. This is not one of the earliest recoveries as it shows some minor rust spotting but is still very fresh so it is not a late recovery either. This comes with a nice specimen card that is generic (no collection name) except a note that says something like “from Pieter Heydelaar” I believe. This makes sense as I know Pieter (a famous gold dealer that dabbles in meteorites a bit) had quite a bit of Mbale years ago.

                3.3 gram fragment with polished face – 20mm x 10mm x 11mm - $15

PLAINVIEW (1917), Texas. (H5) breccia. Found 1917 but may have fallen spring of 1903.

Here is a really nice aesthetic little “micro” slice. It has one crusted edge (one of the shorter edges, unfortunately) with lots of metal and some shock veins in a nice mottled light brown matrix.

                2.1 gram slice – 20mm x 10mm x 3mm - $15

St. MICHEL, Finland: Ordinary chondrite (L6). Fell July 12, 1910. Tkw = 25.4 kg.

I probably priced this on wrong. I know I have heard of it and had pieces of it in the past but I, unfortunately, don’t have any idea what this stuff is “going for” out there so I guessed (more than something like Mbale but less than L’Aigle). So, either someone out there is going to get a great deal or I’ll have this one in Denver. This a thick part slice that is all cut sides except one broken edge (no crust, unfortunately).

                4.3 gram slice – 22mm x 10mm x 10mm - $80 -SOLD

SULTANPUR, India: Ordinary chondrite (L6), black. Fell July 10, 1916. Tkw = 1711 grams.

Now this one I priced high as there seems to be very little of it known and very little of it distributed. I think I have had crumbs of this in the past but this is a much larger “crumb”. This is a small cut fragment that likely broke off o a larger slice sometime in the past.

                .26 gram cut fragment – 8mm x 5mm x 3mm - $100

TENNASILM, Estonia: Ordinary chondrite (L4), veined. Fell June 28, 1872. Tkw = 28.5 kg.

This is a small fresh flake/ fragment. Thankfully, its thinness actually gives it a pretty good surface area.

                .30 gram fragment – 10mm x 6mm x 2mm - $25  

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 164

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 164

Blaine Reed

P.O. Box 1141

Delta, CO 81416

Ph/fax (970) 874-1487

…………………………………………………LIST 154

June 3, 2014

Dear collectors,

I wasn’t going to send out an offer this week as I had hoped to visit the Colorado Springs show this weekend (leaving only a couple days to take and pack orders). I didn’t sign up for the show as a seller (stupidly). I thought I had a couple schedule conflicts that quickly evaporated once I made the commitment that I was not going as a seller. However, a recent development has me trapped at home and in need of raising some money. It seems that my car now suddenly needs a new engine. I am not certain what happened but it happened quickly. I have had some issues over the years with this thing randomly using oil at times (usually weeks to months with no loss and then suddenly a quart disappearing over a weekend, or so it seemed). I did a fancy oil change on the thing last week, using high end long life synthetic oil and a high end long life specially made for synthetic oil filter to go with it. I then drove the thing to Ouray (a town about an hour’s drive south of us) and more the past week. Saturday I noticed some subtle but strange and scary noises coming out of the engine on one of my stops (glad I left the engine running for my quick out of the car there otherwise I might not have had ANY clue to a problem developing). I got home and put the thing in the garage. Sunday, having already forgotten about this noise, I pulled the car out to go to a hanger party some friends were having. Getting out of the car to pull the garage door shut I once again heard the noise. However it was much louder and scarier this time. Back in the garage it went (we took Blake’s car). On Monday I did a little more “research” (putting the thing on ramps listening with a make shift stethoscope) into the issue. It was very obvious very quickly – the engine is coming apart (crank and rod bearings are pretty much gone). In fact it is now to the point that I don’t even dare drive it to the shop that I plan to have put a new (well, a good used anyway) engine in the thing around 6 miles away. I am still at a loss as to what could have created this problem but I suspect that it may be a faulty oil filter or just plain old-fashioned coincidence. When I checked the oil Monday, that now supposedly had some 150 miles or so on it, it still looked like it was new and had just come from the container. I know it is synthetic but it should have had some coloration if even just from mixing with the little residual old oil that is always still left in an engine when doing an oil change. I then swapped out the oil filter (already thinking that this MIGHT be the issue). Running the car the few minutes after this to diagnose the issue did indeed seem to bring a little coloration to the oil. The new filter, unfortunately, did nothing to quiet the noise, the damage has already been done. So now I have only the big ugly (and fuel hungry) Suburban to drive until I get this fixed (I can borrow Linda’s car from time to time but not for any serious trips and only at times that she does not need it). I did manage to luck out and find a local shop that has a guaranteed good used engine (with warranty) that has somewhat less miles than my now roasted engine. Unfortunately, my car (a 2001 Subaru Forester) has a bit of a rare engine (used in only 1 year I think) so this is not going to be all that cheap. Linda’s more common 1993 Subaru could have an engine and have it installed for a total of only $1300. The engine on mine alone will run that much. With installation (and, if you are smart, a new timing belt, water pump and oil pump) I’ll be looking at around $2500 or so. A fair amount of money (particularly annoying as taxes are due in a week or so again), but certainly a better option than buying a different used car and finding it has ONLY the engine in good shape (the rest of my car is quite solid and sound mechanically).

So, here is a rather slapped together offering of some odd (and mostly expensive, unfortunately) items that I had set aside for collection or display that are now up for grabs. ALSO, please look over the last few lists I have sent out (those since the beginning of March – Lists 149, 150, 151, 152 and 153. I have many (most?) of the items (or suitable replacements except for perhaps Fukang, and NWA (8302) at this point) listed on those offerings still available. I’ll be happy to try and make you a special private “car repair funds and quarterly taxes” price on anything I still have that you are interested in off of those offerings (at least on all of the items that are mine. There are a few consignments floating around on these offerings).

Note:  Some of you will likely notice that I am no longer putting the “name” numbers in parenthesis. This may make it a little harder to read these offerings. However, I have been informed that having the parenthesis in my posts makes them very hard for people to find these specimens if they do an online search for these particular meteorites.

 

DAR AL GANI 476, Libya: Martian. Shergottite. Olivine phyric. Found 1998. Tkw = 2.20kg.

Here is a complete slice that I have been using as my Mars rock to let people handle. It is a complete slice but it is fairly thick (and thus safe to handle). This has the classic DaG look to it. It has dark (brown surrounded by black) inclusions (olivine) in a really obviously green matrix. Note: I will sell either this OR the NWA (6963) listed below but not both as I need SOMETHING to show people what a Mars rock looks like that is bigger than a thumb-nail sized slice. 
                10.4 gram complete slice – 40mm x 30mm x 4mm - $3500

MURCHISON, Australia: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM2). Fell September 28, 1969.

Here is a fragment I had set aside for a customer way back when I offered this on a mailed list around a year and a half ago. It has sat on a high shelf, forgotten (apparently by the potential customer as well) since then. I don’t remember who asked me to “set this aside” for them so now it is back up for grabs. This is a nice natural fragment that has a nice patch of fusion crust covering around 30% of the piece.

                .56 gram fragment with crust – 10mm x 9mm x 8mm - $80

NWA 032: Lunar Mare Basalt. Found October 1999. Tkw = 300 grams.

I really hesitate to sell this one. It was (and is supposed to be) in a collection of Moon rocks I have on display at a shop in Montrose (in hopes that those people in that town that want to see what a REAL moon rock looks like will get a chance to do so). I had a customer that wanted a “classic” Mare Basalt so I brought this one home to offer to him. He wants something larger and thicker. I have a number of other Lunar meteorites classified as basalts, but this is the one that truly looks like a basalt you’d find here on Earth. Anyway, I have not gotten the chance to get this back over to the display in Montrose so I will offer it here but, admittedly, not cheap. I have no idea what this stuff is going for on the market these days. I am not certain there really is any available. I got this as one of my very first (after DaG 262 anyway) Lunar meteorites (certainly my first Lunar basalt) from Alan Lang many years ago.

                .206 gram slice – 13mm x 10mm x .5mm - $600

NWA 6963, Morocco: Martian. Shergottite. Found 2011. Tkw = 8 kilograms.

This one actually has a known find location and coordinates. According to the Meteoritical Bulletin, this found in south Morocco near the river Oued Touflit. I got this nice piece from Steve Arnold in Tucson this past show. I liked it because it is an end piece and has nice crust (even showing some hints of flow lines) covering the back- side. The internal texture of this looks very much like Shegotty or the coarse grained areas of Zagami. This specimen has a few small dark shock melt pockets in it as well. This has a cut edge to it so it is not a “complete” end piece but this cut edge is such that the specimen is aesthetic none the less. A note on this one: As with the Dag (476) above, I will sell one of these but need to hang on to the other for display purposes (these two are my only “substantial” Martin pieces at the moment). So, the one that sells first is the one that I sell, the other I’ll hang on to (unless another sudden automotive or other disaster hits that is).

                5.45 gram cut end piece – 30mmx 25mm x 3mm - $1700 – nice crust covering back.

NWA 8010: Lunar. Feldspathic breccia. Found 2013. Tkw = 58 grams.

Matt asked me if I wanted to “share” a new lunar meteorite a source of his had turned up. I was hesitant as it was a lot of money. Once he cut it open though, I was sure glad I agreed to take part in this one. This is completely different than any of the other Lunar meteorites that I am aware of. This has large rounded clasts with a brown/ pinkish tinge that are filled with smaller angular to rounded light gray to white clasts. This part is neat and different. However, the really neat thing is that these larger clasts are surrounded by thick black bubbly melt veins! This thing is full of vesicles. UNM has a grad student doing work on this thing (to see what gasses and its origin that formed the bubbles among other things). I had planned to wait until this work was done before offering this thing but circumstances change. This is an end piece and is certainly tough enough to pass around and let people handle it (this is what I was doing with it). About the only thing I can fault this thing for public display/ handling purposes are that is to weird, having the big, bubbly melt veins. I have had enough local trouble with a local loon that thinks he has been finding meteorites that contain gas bubbles. I really don’t want to publicly display this one that IS real and DOES contain bubbles to the locals (and why this piece did not end up as part of the lunar display I have in Montrose right now).

                18.32 gram end piece – 50mm x 25mm x 8mm - $12k

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 153

Blaine Reed Meteorites For Sale - List 153

Blaine Reed

P.O. Box 1141

Delta, CO 81416

Ph/fax (970) 874-1487

…………………………………………………LIST 153

May 20, 2014

BOOK: OUR STONE-PELTED PLANET by H.H. Nininger.

I picked this up in Tucson along with a copy of Farrington’s “Meteorites”. I have read this one a couple times in the past so I’m putting this one up for sale (I may sell the Farrington later once I have had a chance to got through it). It is a pretty usual used copy. It is missing the dust jacket and is clearly an ex-library book (Nevada State Library I think). It is in pretty good shape overall, aside from the old now marked out library labels (mostly on the first pages). This may be actually be rarer (but, perhaps, not quite as desirable) than other copies in that I think this may be the first copy I have ever had that does NOT have Nininger’s signature in it. Anyway, a good reading copy of a fairly rare book.

                Nininger’s “Our Stone-Pelted Planet” - $150 

CANYON DIABLO, Arizona: Coarse octahedrite (IAB).

Here is a tumble polished piece of this now very difficult to get meteorite. I got this as part of a collection that was mostly glasses (tektites and fulgurites) over a year ago. It looks very much like the small tumbled Odessa piece Robert Haag sold years ago – rounded corners, lots of bright metal but still wit black patches in the deeper recesses. I can’t help but wonder if this was one of the ones I heard about back when we (myself and a few friends) acquired the Guadalupe y Calve hexahedrite. While I was looking that over a guy had asked me how Robert “made” those nice little tumbled Odessas (which were selling about as fast as he could prepare them). I gave him my thoughts on how it was done and asked why he wanted to know. He said he had gotten a small “bucket full” of roughly thumb-sized Canyon Diablo pieces that were not only natural but had a white number painted on them. He didn’t like the appearance (or the number) and it seemed his potential customers did not either. I explained what these likely where (Nininger specimens) and their longer term importance to collectors but he was not interested. He also was not interested in selling them to me at anything near what those things would have been worth at the time (maybe $.25 to .30/g, I think I was paying around $35/ pound for Diablos those days). He wanted the much higher $1/g he thought he would get for them cleaned as this was the price Robert was getting for his tumbled Odessas (which, importantly, were very MUCH smaller than the Diablos). Wish I could go back and give this idiot the $1/g now. Anyway, I just have to wonder if this, actually kind of nice specimen was one of those.

                30.9 gram tumble polished individual – 42mm x 15mm x 10mm - $40

NAKHLA, Egypt: Mars rock (Nakhlite). Fell June 28, 1911. Tkw = around 10 kilograms.

It has been a looooong time since I have been able to offer a piece of this famous meteorite. Unfortunately, this is among the most expensive (overall specimen price wise) specimen I have offered as well. However, this is also among the most "Museum grade” specimens I have offered as well. This is a nice, fresh fragment that has a very substantial (around 18mm x 13mm) patch of fresh shiny black crust. This is truly a rare opportunity for the Mars Rock collector (I have generally stopped calling these things “SNCs” as there have been a number of new type Mars rocks that don’t fit those classifications lately).

                5.60 gram fragment with crust – 20mm x 14mm x 15mm - $15,000 – crust patch 18mm x 13mm

NWA 5546: Carbonaceous chondrite (CV3). Found 2008. Tkw = 3.8 kilograms.

I am not sure why this one is still listed as “provisional” in the Bulletin. The provisional report shows the history, type, researcher and everything but yet it hasn’t become “official”. I got a couple pieces of this from Matt late last year and finally decided to chop them in half while doing cutting work on other things on my 10” saw. This is quite weathered, has internal cracks and such but yet is fairly appealing on the cut surfaces. It shows lots of generally large chondrules of various shades of gray, brown and orange in a medium to dark chocolate matrix. These are fairly large and I may end up breaking them down if people really want smaller specimens. I priced these as the cheapest CV3 I have to help make up for the size.

1)       Cut fragments:

a)       84.8 grams – 70mm x 50mm x 10mm - $250

b)       113.8 grams – 80mm x 47mm x 10mm - $340

c)       152.6 grams – 85mm x 50mm x 12mm - $450

ODESSA, Texas: Coarse octahedrite (IAB).

This is an interesting solid really dark brown, nearly black individual. It has been cleaned or treated somehow but I am not certain how. It does not appear to have ever been wire brushed (at least not in anyway more than a really light brushing with a really soft wheel maybe). It does still have a couple tiny areas of natural fine sand or dirt in a couple recesses. I suspect that it was lightly cleaned to remove dirt and maybe some scale but then spent the rest of its life well oiled. Regardless, this is a good sample of this quite scarce (these days) meteorite.

                276.8 gram individual – 65mm x 50mm x 20mm - $200

ZAG, Western Sahara/ Morocco: (H3-6). Fell August 4 or 5, 1998. Tkw = about 175 kilograms.

Here are some really fresh fragments of this important meteorite. This fall is one of only two chondrites (the other being Monahans, TX which also fell in 1998, interestingly) that have been found to contain salt crystals that clearly show that water flowed through these meteorite’s parent body at one time! These crystals, when seen are bright blue or purple due to damage from radiation over the (billions) years. These pieces appear to be natural fragments that are very light gray to nearly white and were likely among the very earliest pieces to have been picked up (I have a fair number of pieces that very obviously were later recoveries. Let me know if you want any of these cheaper pieces). I thought about cutting some of these as some pieces contain an interesting breccia texture but decided against it. This was, though there is a very small chance that any of these contain salt crystals, cutting them would most certainly destroy them if there were any.

1)       Natural fresh fragments:

a)       6.2 grams – 20mm x 17mm x 7mm - $25

b)       9.6 grams – 22mm x 20mm x 10mm - $38

c)       17.7 grams – 25mm x 20mm x 15mm - $70

d)       47.7 grams – 60mm x 30mm x 17mm - $180 – has some obvious breccia zones.

DIAMONDS: “Carbonados” from Brazil.

I remember reading some kind of “news” snippet in a Discover Magazine some years ago that said something to the effect that these “frothy” diamonds from Brazil were likely associated with a meteorite. Furthermore, they weren’t from an impact here on Earth but (supposedly) were already contained in the meteorite before it hit! They supposedly have weathered out and are now found scattered about the find area. This, to be honest, sounds really far-fetched to me. But then, this is the attitude many took early on towards the theories that SNCs were from Mars and the HEDs were from Vesta (both now accepted as fact). Anyway, I tried to obtain some of these after reading that and completely failed (one friend in the diamond business said he could help but I would have to spend a minimum of $50k). I have since kept my eyes out for samples. I finally found some interesting nondescript shaped, somewhat porous diamonds labeled as Brazilian “carbonados” at the Denver Spring show a couple years ago (and misplaced them not long after). I set one aside after rediscovering these and the rest are listed here.

1)       Natural “crystals” as found:

a)       1.1 carat – 7mm x 5mm x 4mm - $100 – light yellow color.

b)       1.6 carat – 9mm x 5mm x 5mm - $150 – light gray color.

c)       2.0 carat – 8mm x 8mm x 5mm - $180 – mixed clear and light tan color.