Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 73

The Manuscript, Space & Collectibles Auction

Meteorites

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 640		Esquel the Most Beautiful Pallasite, Discovered in 1951 by a farmer in Chubut, Argentina, the single 680 Kg meteorite known as Esquel has been in great demand as the most beautiful of the rare type of meteorites known as pallasites. There are three major types of meteorites, iron, stony and stony-iron. Pallasites are stony-iron meteorites that originate from the core-mantle boundary of large planetary size asteroids that were destroyed early in the formation of the solar system. This rare type of meteorite consists of iron-nickel from the core of the asteroid as well as olivine crystals known as peridot from the mantle. Peridot crystals (the gem state of olivine crystals) are the only known gem stones from space found in meteorites. Esquel is considered to be the most beautiful of all pallasites. This 44 x 29 x 3 mm section of Esquel has been polished on both sides to get the maximum reflection of the iron-nickel matrix as well as displaying the beautiful translucent lightly shocked yellow-green to orange olivine crystals. It weighs 18 grams and is dramatically displayed on a 2 inch magnetic stand. Add $15 for dometic shipping. Estimated Value $750 - 1,000 View details and enlarged photo	Realized $600
Lot 641		Meteorite a Large Complete Nwa 869 Stony, This large complete stony meteorite is from NWA 869 (North West Africa) that fell near Tindouf, Algeria hundreds of years ago. Even though over 1500 Kg of meteorites were found, most were rather small and not very attractive with little or no fusion crust. This large 512 gram (over one pound) 3 x 2.5 x 2.5 inch glossy dark brown beauty is the exception. It has nearly 100% of its dark glossy brown fresh fusion crust with just a couple of breaks in the fusion crust with traces of the Sahara desert sand still embedded. The dark brown fusion crust resulted from the stony meteorite ablating through the Earth's atmosphere when the meteorite exploded over the Sahara desert hundreds of years ago. This beautiful stony meteorite would be perfect for someone desiring a complete stony meteorite for their collection as the vast majority of stony meteorites are cut into sections and polished. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $450 - 600 View details and enlarged photo	Realized $408
Lot 642		Meteorite Admire Pallasite, Pallasites are the rare type of meteorites that came from the core-mantle boundary of a very large asteroid that was destroyed by impact early in the formation of our solar system. It is a stony-iron with a iron-nickel matrix interspersed with olivine crystals. The Admire Pallasite was first discovered near Admire Kansas in 1881 even though it fell to earth some 15,000 years ago. This large section is 3.75 x 2.5 inches and 0.4 cm thick weighing a hefty 102 grams and is loaded with olivine crystals with about 80 percent of the surface covered in olivine with the rest being iron-nickel. About one dozen of the olivine crystals are translucent with some approaching gem quality. The color of the crystals varies from yellow- green to a deep peridot green color. The Admire Pallasite is one of the most beautiful of all known pallasites and is unique in pallasites in that some of the olivine crystals have a characteristic called chatoyancy. Chatoyancy is defined as the change of luster within a gemstone due to the way the crystals reflect light. This rare occurrence is caused by tiny void tubes which appear like the effect of fiber optics when the gemstone is cut parallel to the tubes. This effect can be observed in some of olivine crystals of the Admire Pallasite when viewed in low light as the crystals seem to turn on and off by themselves. Comes with a 4 inch Illusion stand for display. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,250 View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 643		Meteorite Campo Del Cielo 15.5 Pounds, Most iron-nickel meteorites are just hunks of metal without an interesting shape. This large 7.25 x 5.5 x 2.5 inch 15.5 pound new Campo del Cielo iron-nickel meteorites is the exception having an esthetic shape that looks something like a "sea fan" with a 3X2.5 inch natural base fanning up to 7.5 x 2.5 inches at the top. The meteorite stands upright on this natural flat base which makes for an impressive display. Its iron-nickel surface is covered with desirable medium to large regmaglypts (thumbprints) that formed when the meteor passed through Earth's atmosphere and the troilite in the meteorite melted. First recorded by the Spanish in 1576, the huge fall of Campo del Cielo (Valley of the Sky) iron-nickel meteorites occurred thousands of years before. The best quality Campos such as this splendid specimen were recovered high in the mountains where their surface was not rusted away by ground water. The Campo field has been mostly explored and the price of quality Campos is rising dramatically as new specimens are getting to be very difficult to locate and demand for meteorites has been steadily increasing. A five pound Campo del Cielo meteorite sold for over $3000 in a New York auction in September, 2007. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,500 View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 644		Meteorite Etched Gibeon End Cut, Gibeon iron-nickel meteorites are in very high demand as they are hard to find and possess; the most beautiful internal crystalline structure when cut and etched. Gibeon meteorites were found in the Kalahari desert of Namibia, Africa from a fall the occurred thousands of years ago. This huge museum size and quality 11.25 x 6.75 x 2.5 inch 18 pound end cut exhibits the extremely detailed beautiful fine octahedral Widmanstatten pattern on the polished side as well as the defining fine regmaglypts on the completely natural back end. This interesting geometric pattern resulted from the separation of two alloys of nickel, taenite and kamicite that occurred on the large parent asteroid before it was blown apart early in the formation of the solar system. This crystalline pattern does not exist on any rocks on earth and only forms when the iron core of the asteroid cools very slowly at no more than a few degrees Celsius per million years. Gibeon is considered to have the finest looking regmaglypts because they are so fine, forming a beautiful delicate pattern unlike the coarse Octohedrite irons such as Campo and Canyon Diablo. These large sized Gibeons are only available when old time meteorite collections are sold and would make the centerpiece to any meteorite collection. Add $35 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000 View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 645		Meteorite From Meteor Crater, This esthetic 4 x 2 x 1 inch over 1 pounds (475grams) Canyon Diablo iron-nickel meteorite is a palm sized specimen of one of the most sought after iron meteorites by collectors. Most currently available Canyon Diablo meteorites are just a few grams in weight. Any sizeable specimens are hard to come by as the area around Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona has been closed for years. The nearly one mile in diameter crater was created over 50,000 years ago when a 50 foot in diameter meteor exploded high over the Arizona desert. This excellent quality meteorite possesses all of the qualities desired in a Canyon Diablo meteorite, excellent shape looking somewhat like a small early human hand axe with a sharp point and sharp edges attesting to the explosive force that broke up the huge meteorite, gunmetal color and several shallow distinctive regmaglypts (thumbprints) of varying sizes. Since no specimens are available from the source at Meteor Crater, the only way to acquire a specimen is when specimens are made available from collections. Comes on a 4 inch illusion stand for display. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $400 - 600 View details and enlarged photo	Realized $832
Lot 646		Pair of Complete Iron-Nickel Meteorites, This lot contains two complete iron-nickel meteorites from Nantan, China and Campo del Cielo Argentina. It is interesting to note the differences in weathering between the two falls even though they both contain the same amount of nickel (between 6.68-6.8%). The 4 x 3 inch 946 gram (over two pounds) Nantan which was the first described fall of a meteorite when it fell in 1516 in China with the first specimens recovered in 1958 is very weathered with its regmaglypts mostly worn down from burial in a moist soil condition. The resulting surface is fairly smooth with a texture looking something like alligator skin. Even though the Campo del Cielo meteorite fell over 5,000 years ago instead of 500 years, 3 x 2.8 inch 8 pound complete Campo is a perfect example of what a new Campo looks like being found high up in the mountains and not submerged in water laden soil. Both meteorites are included in this lot. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $450 - 550 View details and enlarged photo	Realized $384
Lot 647		Partial Polished Petrified Wood Log Section, This large 10 x 9.5 x 5 inch deep partial log section ways over 37 pounds and is from the 225 million year old Chinle formation of northern Arizona, the same general area as the famous Petrified Forest National Park. Petrified (fossilized) wood was created when a forest of trees was buried in a volcanic eruption that enabled the wood to be gradually replaced by minerals in the ground water over many millions of years. This superb specimen known as Araucarioxylon arizonicum (the Arizona state flower) came from an extinct conifer tree and has a high polish on its top side with natural agatized color on the backside and with nearly complete bark on the sides. The color ranges from the rare orange, burnt orange to red with splashes of beige and purple. This agatized wood was created by ground water with various minerals slowly permeating the silica from the lava and replacing the wood grains of the wood. Add $45 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $700 - 1,000 View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 648		Petrified Rainbow Colored Wood, This large 12 x 10 inch agatized and polished complete section of petrified wood from the Araucarioxylon tree has a wonderful mix of rainbow colors that resulted from many different minerals permeating the wood at different times from the volcanic soil over millions of years. The unusual orange and red colors were produced by replacement by iron oxide. This exceptionally large section has the most colors imaginable on one fossilized tree with reds, burnt orange, hues of browns, lavender, beiges, black and even a yellow mustard color. Pictures definitely do not do justice to this large museum quality specimen with natural bark on its edges. Araucarioxylon arizonicum is an extinct 225 million conifer tree that is the state fossil of Arizona and known to all visitors to the Painted Forest National Park. Add $25 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $500 - 700 View details and enlarged photo	Realized $432
Lot 649		Tissint Martian Meteorite, At about 2 A.M. on July 18, 2011 a bright fireball was observed by several people in the Oued Dran Valley east of Tata, Morocco. The intense fireball was at first yellow in color and then turned green before breaking into several pieces resulting in two sonic booms. The first pristine meteorites were found in October 48 km SSW of Tissint Village. Any meteorite recovered from an observed fall becomes highly sought after and highly valued but Tissint was not just any meteorite, it turned out to be a very rare meteorite that originated on the planet Mars. This meteorite was identified as being from Mars by analyzing its oxygen isotopes. The composition of the oxygen isotopes from Mars is different from the composition of the oxygen isotopes from Earth, just like a fingerprint identifies this meteorite as being from Mars. Because this meteorite is so fresh and was recovered within weeks of its fall in an arid desert, it has tremendous potential for scientists to analyze it to determine the conditions on Mars at the time it was formed and even possibly to find organic matter that might indicate the presence of life. In April 2012, a team of scientists at the Buckingham Center for Astrobiology and Cardiff University led by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe and PhD student Jamie Wallis have indeed found what they claim to be signs of fossilized life in the Tissint meteorite. Using a powerful electron microscope they found tiny egg-shaped carbon rich globules from the interior of one of the Tissint Martian meteorites. Jamie Wallis believes that these organic spheres are proof of fossil life on Mars 400-500 million years age and are probably remnants of polysaccharide shells surrounding algal type cells. Other scientists are currently trying to confirm these findings. Bubbles within the meteorite could still contain traces of the Martian atmosphere. The glossy black fusion crust looks like glass being so fresh and the interior is a pale gray color with some pale yellow olivine macrocrysts. The host rock solidified out of Martian magma 400-500 million years age and was blasted off the surface of Mars by an asteroid impact around one million years ago. The largest 2.4 pound Tissint meteorite was purchased by the British Museum for over one million dollars and is considered to be the most important meteorite in their collection, and the most important meteorite fall in over 100 years. This museum quality specimen measuring 12 x 10 x 5 mm and weighs 1.11 grams with more than 90% pristine glassy black fusion crust and a view inside the meteorite from the other exposed areas. Presented in a 8.5 x 6.5 inch Riker mount with a picture of the egg globule plus official meteorite bulletin and analysis of the egg-like sturucture. The only way to get a fresher piece of the planet Mars would be to go there and pick one up. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,000 View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,200
Lot 650		Two Sikhote-Alin Iron-Nickel Meteorites, This lot contains both types of Sikhote-Alin iron-nickel meteorites, the scarcer type with regmaglypts and the sharp edged shrapnel type. On Feb. 10, 1947 high above the Sikhote-Alin mountains of Siberia, an enormous explosion tore apart a vary large iron-nickel meteorite into thousands of smaller pieces and knocked people off their feet several miles away from the blast. The first explosion was high up in the atmosphere and the meteorites from this initial explosion exhibit regmaglypts (thumbprints) from melting for a longer time in the earth's atmosphere. The secondary explosions occurred much closer to the ground and these meteorites show the ripping force of the explosion resulting in sharp edges and there was not enough time to form the regmaglypts. The larger 2.5 x 2 inch 129 gram complete meteorite is of the rarer first explosion type that is covered in small regmaglypts with a very esthetic shape so pristine that even lips of melted iron are still clearly preserved due to orientation in the meteorites descent and the back side of the meteorite is much smoother than the front from having partially melted. The second 2 x 1.5 inch 49 gram meteorite shows signs of the explosive shearing force with many sharp edges and just the start of regmaglypt formation that ceased when the meteorite struck the ground. Both meteorites come with a 2 inch magnetic stand for display. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $475 - 600 View details and enlarged photo	Realized $384