Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 131

Collectible Auction

Rocks/Minerals

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 757		Slice of 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 now rarely available as the single discovered meteorite has been completely sectioned with only the main mass end piece remaining. This large 74 x 58 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 many beautiful translucent lightly shocked green olivine crystals. It weighs a hefty 63.2 grams and is displayed in a 6 x 5.5 inch Riker mount. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,500 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 758		Rare Fukang Pallasite Section. Pallsites are by far the rarest and most beautiful of the major types of meteorites and are thought to have originated at the mantle-core boundary of very large differentiated asteroids that were destroyed during the early formation of the solar system over 5 billion years ago. Pallasites are a combination of iron-nickel and olivine crystals. Gemstones of olivine are known as Peridot literally making Pallasites gemstones from space. Fukang is considered to be one of the most beautiful of Pallasites because it contains the largest crystals of olivine mixed in its iron-nickel matrix. Only one large 1003 Kg meteorite was recovered near Fukang, China in 2000. This tanslucent slice with 8 translucent olivine crystals of varying sizes is 2 1/2 X 1 � inches and weighs 42.4 grams and is housed in a 3 ½ X 2 � inch cushion box for protections and viewing on all sides. The true beauty of this translucent slice can only be appreciated when held up to a light source that enables the large olivine crystals to dazzle. Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,200 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 759		Esthetic 235 Gram Sikhote-Alin Meteorite with Regmaglypts. This 235 gram 3 X 2 inch Sikhote-Alin iron nickel meteorite that fell on Feb.12, 1947 in Siberia is the rarer of the two types possessing regmaglypts, small crater-like impressions that formed by ablation of Troilite (Iron Sulfide) when the meteorite was streaking through the sky at high temperature. The large meteorite body broke up twice during its fall to earth with only the higher breakup creating the meteorites with the regmaglypts, the lower breakup creating the shrapnel type meteorites. The shape of this meteorite is special covered with various sized regmaglypts including one large regmaglypt and a beak-like shape on the upper left side. Sikhote-Alin meteorites are becoming rare to find as the Meteorite field in Siberia has been well searched with very few meteorites left to find. A magnetic Plastic display stand included. Estimated Value $700 - 1,000 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $434
Lot 760		Sikhote-Alin Iron nickel meteorite with Regmaglypts. This esthetic 3 X 1 � X 1 ½ inch, 313.3 gram 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 with only the higher breakup creating the meteorites with the regmaglypts, the lower breakup creating the shrapnel type meteorites. The entire meteorite is covered with various sized regmaglypts with smooth fresh surfaces. Having fallen 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. Estimated Value $600 - 800 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 761		Collection of Minerals: Standout is a Carved Labradorite Head. Also Included are Amethyst Crystal Clusters and a Labradorite Slice. Labradorite was first identified in Labrador, Canada and later found in Poland, Norway and Finland. While not rare, its appeal is the iridescent optical effects in the mineral. The term "labradorescence" was coined to explain this particular phenomenon. In this collection is a beautifully carved head where the iridescence is found throughout and it is mesmerizing. Also included is a heavily polished slice that also exhibits the same peculiar reflection. Head is 5½ x 5 x 6" and in excellent condition. The slice measures 9 x 7 x 4" Finally 3 clusters of amethyst quartz each approximately 6 x 5". Estimated Value $600 - 1,000 From the Personal Collection of Michael James Jackson. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $400
Lot 762		Three Different Types of Vesta Meteorites. The moon, Mars and Vesta are the only planetary bodies in our solar system where we can positively identify meteorites that originated from their surface. Vesta is a very large asteroid with a diameter of over 326 miles and has a gigantic impact crater at its South Pole that is so deep that it exposes the asteroid's interior. With the photos that have come from Vesta, this huge crater is now confirmed and has been identified, using a spectograph,as the source for the three types of meteorites from Vesta. NWA 2126 is a brecciated cumulate Eucrite that formed from the impact of a large asteroid that hit Vesta. This 26X25 mm slice weighs 4.9 grams and shows a mixture of the surface rocks from Vesta with white gray light and dark brown inclusions. The second meteorite type is called Howardite and comes from a deeper part of the impact crater. NWA 3117 is a 18X18 mm fragment weighing 3.4 grams with a light gray matrix color with some white and dark gray inclusions. The third type of meteorite is called a Diogenite which comes from deeper inside the huge impact crater. This slice of NWA 2795 is 25 X 18 mm weighing 4.6 grams showing several different colored inclusions in a light gray matrix. In a 8X6 inch Riker mount. Estimated Value $500 - 800 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $450
Lot 763		Meteorite 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. Peridot crystals (the gem state of olivine crystals) are the only known gem stones from space found in meteorites. This 27 X 26 mm slice weighing 19.7 grams has been polished on both sides displaying several translucent green olivine crystals including one rare crystal that is completely clear with no shock lines that qualifies as gem quality peridot. Estimated Value $500 - 1,000 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 764		Famous Canyon Diablo Iron-Nickel Meteorite. This 474 Gram (over one pound) 3 ¼ X 2 1/2 inch Canyon Diablo iron-nickel meteorite is an excellent shaped palm sized specimen with a few distinctive regamaglypts of one of the most sought after iron meteorites by collectors. Most available Canyon Diablo meteorites are flakes that weigh just a few grams. The nearly one mile in diameter crater near Winslow, Arizona was created over 50,000 years ago when a 50 foot in diameter meteorite exploded high over the Arizona desert. 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. Estimated Value $500 - 900 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 765		Large Libyan Desert Glass Tektite. 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 3 ½ X 3 inch 307 gram specimen of Libyan Desert Glass from a meteorite impact 29 million years ago is unusually pristine from being buried in the sand in the Sahara desert (near the border of Libya and Egypt) It is a yellow to medium green in color with about 20 % of its top being a smooth glossy light green from being sand blasted on the surface and the remainder buried in the sand having the original lightly pitted surface along with some holes that resemble regmaglypts. Most specimens of Libyan desert glass are a pale yellow color unlike the deeper more vibrant yellow-green color of this superior specimen. Estimated Value $500 - 900 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 766		Rare Original Meteorite Crater Study Kit. Canyon Diablo meteorites are the iron-nickel meteorites found in the area around Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona. The nearly one mile in diameter crater was created over 50,000 years ago when a 50 foot in diameter iron-nickel meteorite exploded high of the Arizona desert. This original Meteortie Crater Study Kit is in perfect condition in its box of issue and has not been available for purchase for over 50 years. The kit contains two small iron-nickel meteorite fragments, an oxidized meteorite fragment, two impactites, metallic spheroids plus the 65 page illustrated booklet titled "A Comet Strikes the Earth". All of the specimens are fully described. Estimated Value $400 - 600 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 767		Large 433 Gram Shrapnel Type Sikhote-Alin Iron Nickel Meteorite. On February 12, 1947 a series of loud explosions over the Sikhote-Alin mountain range in Siberia announced the arrival of the most recent large Iron-Nickel meteorite to strike the Earth. These meteorites are the best preserved of all the known major falls. There are two different types of meteorites from this fall, meteorites with regmaglypts and shrapnel type meteorites that resulted from a second explosion much closer to the ground. This 3 X 2 inch 433 gram (nearly one pound) light silver meteorite is a splendid representative of the shrapnel type with sharp edges, signs of melting around the edges and many parallel flow lines from the melting metal caused by the high temperatures passing through the Earth's atmosphere. Parallel flow lines are seldom found on iron-nickel meteorites that fell hundreds or thousands of years ago do to rusting on the Earth's surface. Estimated Value $400 - 800 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 768		Campl del Cielo Complete 366 Gram Slice with Widmanstatten Pattern. The famous iron-nickel meteorite Campo del Cielo fell to the earth over 4,000 years ago in mountainous region of Gran Chaco, Argentina, 500 miles north-northwest of Buenos Aries, in one of the largest and undoubtedly most dramatic falls in the last 10,000 years. Meteorites from this fall were scattered over hundreds of square miles of inaccessible terrain. This 366 gram 5 ½ X 3 1/4 inch complete slice has been polished and etched to show its coarse octahedrite Widmanstatten pattern which results from two alloys of Nickel, Kamacite (the light bands which are low in nickel) and Taenite (the dark bands which are high in nickel). Estimated Value $400 - 800 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 769		Brahin Pallasite Slice. Pallasites are stony-iron meteorites composed of an iron nickel matrix filled with crystals of olivine which is known as Peridot in its gem form. This is a 30.1 gram 2 ½ X 1 7/8 inch gem quality polished slice of the Brahin Pallasite which was found in the Gomel Region of Belorussia in 1810. This extraordinary slice has seven yellow-green translucent crystals of olivine. This rare pallasite comes in a 5 ½ X 4 ½ inch Riker mount. Estimated Value $300 - 500 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $191
Lot 770		Lunar Mingled Breccia Meteorite Section. This 10 X 8mm .218 gram section is from the important Lunar impact meteorite NWA 6355. Almost all of the recovered Lunar meteorites are very small and NWA 6355 found in Morocco in 2010 weighed just 760 grams. This important meteorite is classified as a Lunar Mixed Breccia. This Breccia is a mix several different types of moon rocks that were blasted off the surface of the moon from an impact with a fairly large meteorite and mixed together with molten vaporized rock and resolidified in a fine grain matrix. The black basalt matrix is sprinkled with lighter flakes from the other mixed in rocks. Presented in a 5 ½ X 4 ½ inch Riker mount. Estimated Value $250 - 400 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 771		Two Campo del Cielo Iron-Nickel Meteorites. 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 in Argentina. The first iron -nickel meteorite weighs 336 grams and is 2 1/2 x 2 inches while the second meteorite weights 306 grams and is 3 X 1 ½ inches. Each meteorite has an esthetic 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. Estimated Value $250 - 500 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 772		Colorful Slice of Dhofar 316 L6 Stony Meteorite. Dhofar 316 is a L6 (low iron) Ordinary Chondrite stony meteorite that was found in 2001 in Oman. Only 3.22 Kg were recovered. This colorful brown and silver slice with specks of iron is 75X75X3mm weighing 51 grams and has been polished on both sides to enhance its beauty. Presented in a 4X6 inch riker mount. Estimated Value $200 - 400 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 773		Meteorite from Biggest Meteor Strike Since 1907. At 9:20 A.M. on the morning of February 15, 2013 a large 8-10 ton 50 foot long meteor exploded 10-15 miles above the ancient city of Chelyabinsk, Russia with the force of over 500,000 tons of TNT 10 times the force of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. More than 1,500 people were injured from flying glass and debris from the resulting shock wave. This was the largest meteor event in the last 100 years since a large meteor exploded over a remote area of Siberia in 1907. The official name of this meteorite is Chelyabinsk. This beautiful fresh 40X18X10 mm complete stony meteorite designated as a LL5 SR4 weighs 14.1 grams LL5 SR4. This meteorite fragment is very interesting in that it has two different fusion crusts. The top has a thick dark brown fusion crust that formed high in the earth's atmosphere when the meteorite first broke up and the bottom side has a much thinner black fusion crust that started to form after the final tremendous explosion. The small sections that are not covered by fusion crust offer a window inside of the meteorite displaying its light gray matrix mixed with specks of iron and brown chondrules It is not possible to obtain a fresher meteorite. Estimated Value $200 - 500 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $128
Lot 774		Famous Chelyabinsk Meteorite Complete Individual. At 9:20 A.M. on the morning of February 15, 2013 a large 8-10 ton 50 foot long meteor exploded 10-15 miles above the ancient city of Chelyabinsk, Russia with the force of over 500,000 tons of TNT 10 times the force of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. More than 1,500 people were injured from flying glass and debris from the resulting shock wave. This was the largest meteor event in the last 100 years since a large meteor exploded over a remote area of Siberia in 1907. This beautiful fresh 45 X 28X 8 mm complete specimen weighs 24.1 grams which is much larger than the vast majority recovered. It has a fresh dark brown fusion crust covering the entire top half of the meteorite with the bottom side offering a window inside of the meteorite with some glassy black fusion crust just starting to from and displaying its light gray matrix mixed with specks of iron and rust orange chondrules. This stony chondrite is designated as LL5 SR4 meaning that it is of low iron even for a stony meteorite with the total iron content to be about 10 percent. Comes housed in a 8X6 inch Riker mount with a photo of the explosion. Estimated Value $200 - 400 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $128
Lot 775		Canyon Diablo Iron-Nickel Meteorite Slice with Widmanstatten Pattern. This 178.1 gram 4 ½ X 2 ½ inch Canyon Diablo iron-nickel meteorite slice has been polished and etched on both sides to show its Widmanstatten pattern. Widmanstatten patterns result from acid etching the polished surface of an Iron-Nickel meteorite. The low nickel (5%-15%) Kamacite iron-nickel alloy and the high nickel (up to 50%) Taenite iron nickel alloy etch at different rates in the acid. This Widmanstatten pattern is not found in any Iron-Nickel alloys since it only forms when the alloy cools very slowly only a few degrees over a million years. Estimated Value $200 - 500 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 776		American Brenahm Pallasite 32.5 Gram Slice. The Brenham pallasite fell to earth some 1,000-2,000 years ago in Kiowa County near Haviland, Kansas. It is the most famous of all American pallasites and was perhaps the largest fall of a pallasite in recorded history with over 6 tons of recovered meteorites. Although the local Indians knew of this meteorite, it was not officially discovered until 1882 and designated a pallasite which is a mixture of an iron-nickel matrix with crystals of olivine. This 2 X 1.4 inch 32.5 gram section has been polished on both sides showing several dark olivine crystals in the iron-nickel matrix. Estimated Value $200 - 400 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $128
Lot 777		Nantan Iron-Nickel Meteorite. The Nantan Iron-Nickel meteorite is one of the earliest meteorites that was an observed fall. It was recorded that it fell May 11, 1516 in the Nantan County of Guangxi Province of China. The meteorite fall was described as "stars falling from the northeast direction, five to six fold long, waving like snakes and dragons". It is a seldom offered meteorite composed of 92.35% iron and 6.96% nickel. This 4X 2 ½ X1 inch 782 gram meteorite has the usual compact shape and dark brown color that is common with Nantan meteorites with shallow regmaglypts. Estimated Value $200 - 400 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $128
Lot 778		Shergotite Martian Meteorite Fragment of NWA 1068. These rare meteorites have been identified as being from Mars because of their chemical analysis and oxygen isotopes. In 2001 in the Sahara desert of Morocco a single 1 Kg meteorite was found. This Martian meteorite(named NWA 4857) was found to be a rare Basaltic (volcanic) Martian Shergotite. This specimen is 10 X 7mm weighing .42 gram and has interesting brown and gray pebbly surface. The U.S. is spending billions of dollars to return a sample of pebbles from the surface of Mars. You can own your own small pebble from Mars for far less. Presented in a 5 1/2X 4 1/2 inch Riker mount with a Michael Farmer authenticity card. Estimated Value $150 - 300 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $238
Lot 779		One Billion Year Old Stromatolite from Russia. Stromatolites are the fossils of laminated rock formed from layer by layer buildup from microbial mats of cyanobacteria over thousands of years. Stromatolites formed the very first macro fossils found in the fossil record going back several billion years. This stunning polished 7 X 5 inch1/2 dark greenish-gray slab is completely covered with irregular sausage shaped gray stromatolites varying in length from one inch to over four inches. Over one Billion years old, it was found in Russia. Estimated Value $100 - 300 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $64
Lot 780		72 Guyana Mar Meteorite ALH 84001 $50 Stamp Souvenir Sheets. Each of these 72 souvenir sheets made in 1996 contains a Guyana $50 stamp along with a full color Solar System map showing the path that the famous ALH 84001 Mars meteorite traveled to Earth 13,000 years ago before being discovered in Antarctica in 1984. The $50 stamp itself shows the complete Martian meteorite as well as a close up of the possible nano sized bacteria that was found inside the famous meteorite. This meteorite showed that possible life could have existed on Mars. All 72 sheets are in mint condition never hinged. Estimated Value $100 - 200 Collection of Richard Kosta. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold