Lot 664
Libyan Desert Glass. Tektites are a mixture of earth rocks mixed with a sprinkling of meteorite material from an immense explosive event that occurred when a very large rocky meteorite vaporized before impacting the earth. The resulting mixture forms glass-like mixture. The color is usually black but it can also be green or yellow depending on the amount of silica present. This large 4.75 x 2 x 2 inch 300 gram specimen of Libyan Desert Glass is unusually pristine from being buried in the Sahara sand (near the border of Libya and Egypt) with the top side being smooth with many small regmaglypt-like impressions and the bottom side being flat and somewhat porous. It is of gem quality with some translucence, medium yellow-green color with the top smooth side having small white spheres just below the surface of Cristobalite which is a form of quartz that only forms at very high temperatures above 1470 degrees centigrade. The presence of Cristobalite proves the meteorite impact origin of Libyan Desert Glass as the only other way it could form in the desert would be from a volcano and there was never a volcano anywhere near this area. This is an excellent size and gem quality specimen of Libyan Desert Glass and is especially valuable as a much smaller 125 gram specimen sold for over $6000 in a New York auction in October, 2007.
Allow $15 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $800 - 1,200.
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