Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 105

June 30 - July 1 2018 Manuscript, Space and Collectibles Sale

Meteorites

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 723		Meteorite Seymchan Pallasite 290 Gram Block. Two meteorites weighing 323 Kg were found in 1967 in Seymchan, a Magadan district in far eastern Russia. Originally, Seymchan was believed to be just an iron-nickel meteorite but just recently olivine crystals were found in parts of some of the Seymchan meteorites which makes it a far rarer Pallasite. Pallasites are literally gemstones from outer space containing olivine crystals mixed in with the iron-nickel matrix. This large 5½ x 2¼ x ¾ x 3¼" 289.5 gram slice has areas of olivine crystals and silicate inclusions in its iron-nickel matrix and has been polished and etched to reveal its Widmanstatten pattern. The olivine cryatals in Seymchan are smaller in diameter than in most Pallasites. Seymchan slices are remarkably stable. Comes with a magnetic stand for presentation. Estimate Value $300 - UP View details and enlarged photo	Realized $346
Lot 724		Esthetic Campo Del Cielo, Three Pounds. 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 ago. This 3¾ x 3 x 2½ inch 2.86 pound Campo del Cielo iron-nickel meteorites has an esthetic cone shape with its iron-nickel surface covered with desirable regmaglypts (thumbprints) that formed when the meteor passed through Earth's atmosphere and the troilite in the meteorite melted. In addition to its beautiful esthetic shape this esthetic complete meteorite has an interesting sharp peak that looks something like a bottle opener. Estimate Value $275 - UP View details and enlarged photo	Realized $800
Lot 725		Meteorite Muonionalusta 6 Inch Etched Slice. Muonionalusta is an iron-nickel meteorite that was found in Norrbotten, Sweden in 1906 and since then additional meteorites have been found in one of the largest strewnfields on earth at 30 x 10 kilometers. Muonionalusta is classified as a fine octahedrite and has one of the most beautiful Widmanstatten patterns when it is etched. This large 6¼ x 2 ¾ inch 160 gram section has been etched on both sides and displays one of the most beautiful fine Widmanstatten pattern found on any iron-nickel meteorite. It is very similar to the pattern found on the Gibeon meteorite which is probably from the same parent asteroid body. Estimate Value $225 - UP View details and enlarged photo	Realized $307
Lot 726		Pallasovka Pallasite Meteorite 39.1 Grams. Pallasites are known as gemstones from space as they contain olivine crystals, the gem form being known as Peridot within the matrix of the iron-nickel. Pallasovka is one of the scarcer Pallasites with only a single meteorite weighing 198 Kg being found about 18.5 Km from the famous town of Pallasovka. This 39.1 gram polished slice is 2 x 2 inches with more than 75% of its iron- nickel surface covered with yellow and green olivine crystals. Estimate Value $175 - UP View details and enlarged photo	Realized $179
Lot 727		Exceptional Meteorite Sikhote-Alin With Regmaglypts. 329 gms, Sikhote-Alin iron nickel meteorite is the rarer of the two types possessing regmaglypts, small crater-like impressions that formed by ablation of Troilite when the meteorite was streaking through the sky at high temperature. The large meteorite body broke up twice during its fall to earth. The higher breakup created the meteorites with the regmaglypts; the lower breakup created the shrapnel type meteorites. Covered with various sized regmaglypts, having a sharp peak and showing signs of flow lines from the melting that occurred as it passed through the earth's atmosphere on Feb. 12, 1947 in Siberia. Sikhote-Alin iron-nickel meteorites are the best preserved of all known iron-nickel meteorites. Displayed on a 2 inch magnetic stand. Estimate Value $750 - UP View details and enlarged photo	Realized $750
Lot 728		Huge 892 Gram Libyan Desert Glass Tektite, Rare. Tektites are a mixture of earth rocks mixed with a sprinkling of meteorite material from an immense explosive event that occur when a very large rocky meteorite vaporizes before impacting the earth. The resulting mixture forms a glass-like mixture. The color is usually black but can be green or yellow depending on the amount of silica present. This huge 5 x 3 ½ x 3" 892 gram (almost two pound) specimen is a lovely green color with the top side being fairly smooth and the bottom side being flat and somewhat porous. There are small white spheres just below the surface known as Cristobalite that only forms at very high temperatures. This is one of the largest specimens of Libyan desert glass to be sold at auction. Estimate Value $800 - UP View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,184
Lot 729		Complete 16.2 Gram Lunar Meteorite. Lunar meteorites are the most desirable and expensive and are even rarer than meteorites from Mars. For some reason, all of the recovered lunar meteorites except one are small. NWA 11273 is the official designation of this Lunar meteorite that was found in the Sahara desert in 2017. There were several small stones weighing a total of 2.808 KG. This complete 35 x 30 x 10 mm 16.2 gram meteorite has been classified as a rare feldspathic regolith breccia Lunar meteorite in 2017. It is a breccia composed of a number of different mineral clasts, basalt clasts and even glass fragments. This light brown meteorite has an unusual appearance with a lattice patterned black fusion crust on one of its sides, with oval windows of the light brown color of the pristine meteorite. Unlike most specimens of Lunar meteorites offered, which are just thin partial slices, this complete small meteorite can be an actual moon rock that you can safely hold in your hand. Estimate Value $1,600 - UP View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,856
Lot 730		Rare 31 Pound Muonionalusta With a 3-D Etched Widmanstatten Pattern. Muonionalusta is an iron-nickel meteorite that was found in Norrbotten, Sweden in 1906 and since then additional meteorites have been found in one of the largest strewnfields on earth at 30 10 kilometers. Muonionalusta is classified as a fine octahedrite and has one of the most beautiful Widmanstatten patterns when it is etched. Widmanstatten patterns form when the two alloys of nickel Kamacite(low nickel) and Taenite (high nickel) separate in the iron core of the large asteroid that was destroyed by collision with another large asteroid in the asteroid belt billions of years ago. This separation and pattern form only when the iron core cools at a rate of only a few degrees per million years and is not found on any iron-nickel stones on earth. This amazing 31.38 pound 10 X 7 X 4 inch complete meteorite has been laboriously sand blasted to display one of the most beautiful 3-D Widmanstatten patterns that dramatically shows how a cubic Taenite crystal structure can turn into an octahedrite crystal structure when Kamacite grows on the eight corners of the Taenite cube. The gunmetal meteorite shows many of the 3-D geometric structures formed at every conceivable angle that make Muonionalusta a fine grained Octahedrite iron-nickel meteorite. A really spectacular meteorite to explain and show what Widmanstatten patterns look like throughout the meteorite. Estimate Value $4,500 - UP View details and enlarged photos	Realized $3,840