| Lot |
Photo |
Description |
Realized |
Lot 1 |
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Large 63.2 Gram Section of Famous Esquel 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, stony-iron meteorites that originate from the core-mantle boundary of large planetary size asteroids. This rare type of meteorite consists of iron-nickel from the core of the asteroid as well as peridot. Esquel is considered to be the most beautiful of all pallasites and in 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 $2,000 - 2,500
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Realized
$2,563 |
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Lot 2 |
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Sikhote-Alin 433.2 Gram Shrapnel Type 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 3¼ x 2 x 1¼ inch 433.2 gram Sikhote-Alin meteorite is a splendid representative of the shrapnel type with sharp edges, signs of melting around the edges and parallel flow lines in several directions 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 due to rusting on the Earth's surface. Estimated Value $1,100 - 1,500
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Lot 3 |
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Esthetic Large 235 Gram Sikhote-Alin Meteorite with Regmaglypts. This 235 gram 3 x 2 inch Sikhote-Alin iron nickel meteorite that fell on February 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 - 1,100
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Realized
$525 |
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Lot 4 |
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NWA869 Stony Meteorite With Fusion Crust. Most stony meteorites are small because the larger stony meteorites either break apart or explode from the extreme pressure of earth's atmosphere. This large 4 ½ x 4 x 2 inch 948 gram (over two pounds) complete stony meteorite is a dark brown color with pristine fusion crust on its top side and two of its sides with the bottom showing typical desert preservation. The pristine side with the fusion crust was buried in the sand and the top side was exposed to harsh desert conditions. It has the official designation NWA 869 meaning that it is the 869th meteorite to be classified from North West Africa and is an ordinary chondrite (L3-L6) stony meteorite that is low in iron. and was found by nomadic Berbers in the sands of the Sahara Desert of Morocco. Estimated Value $600 - 1,000
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Lot 5 |
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Piece of the Moon Lunar Meteorite Section Dhofar 1080. This fairly large 32 x 12 mm thin section of the moon meteorite Dhofar 1080 was found in the Dhofar region of the Oman desert. The total know weight of the small meteorite was only 115.2 Grams. It has been classified as a Lunar feldspathic basalt-bearing regolith breccia from the Lunar highlands which means that it is a mixture of several different types of moon rocks rich in Feldspar. The Lunar highlands are the features on the moon that appear to be bright when viewed from the Earth but are actually heavily cratered areas. These basaltic Lunar rocks were melted and partially mixed together when a large meteorite crashed into the moon millions of years ago. This rock mixture was vaporized and ejected from the moon and eventually made its way to the earth. This section has a dark gray matrix with white and light gray clasts. This very valuable meteorite is large enough to be held in your hand and is housed in a 5.5 x 4.5 inch Riker box. Estimated Value $600 - 800
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Realized
$375 |
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Lot 6 |
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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. NWA 2126 is a polymict Eucrite that formed from the impact of a large asteroid that hit Vesta. This 17 x 10 mm slice weighs 3.8 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 1281 is a 12 x 10 mm fragment weighing 4.1 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 5480 is 27 x 22 mm weighing 5 grams showing several different colored inclusions in a dark gray matrix. In a 8 x 6 inch Riker mount. Estimated Value $500 - 900
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Lot 7 |
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Tatahouine Vesta Meteorite. 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 the source of all of the Vesta meteorites. Tatahouine was named for the city nearest its fall in 1937, Tatahouine, Tunisia. The meteorite Tatahouine is called a Diogenite which comes from very deep inside the huge impact crater. This 5.5 gram complete green meteorite is 17 x 12 x 10 mm. This lovely green meteorite is a good size for a Tatahouine most of which are less than 3 grams. It has a high olivine content and is virtually a virgin rock from Vesta not vaporized and mixed with other rocks like most meteorites. Its green color with black shock lines makes it instantly recognizable as it looks like no other known meteorite. Estimated Value $500 - 900
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Lot 8 |
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Museum Quality Seymchan Pallasite Meteorite. 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 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 museum quality 2½ x 1¾ inch 33.7 gram slice has excellent translucent olivine crystals and several greenish gem Peridot crystals. The olivine cryatals in Seymchan are smaller in diameter than in most Pallasites. Seymchan slices are remarkably stable. Estimated Value $350 - 700
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Realized
$268 |
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Lot 9 |
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Martian Meteorite Section of NWA 1195. Meteorites from the planet Mars are so rare that only small fragments are available for sale at an affordable price. These rare meteorites have been identified as being from Mars because of their chemical analysis and age. They are younger than most of the meteorites from the asteroid belt that were formed at the same time as the solar system 4.5 Billion Years Ago. In 2002 in the Sahara desert of Morocco two individual meteorites with a total weight 315 grams were found and submitted for analysis. This Martian meteorite (named NWA 1195) was found to be a rare Basaltic (volcanic) Martian Shergottite more specifically an olivine-orthopyoxene Phyric Shergottite. This specimen is 12mm X 8mm weighing .250 gram and has a brown and gray brecciated matrix with interesting darker gray clasts. Comes with a Hupe Collection pedigree card. Presented in a 5½ x 4½ inch Riker mount. Estimated Value $300 - 600
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Realized
$525 |
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Lot 10 |
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Detailed Model of 1976 Mars Viking Lander on a Meteorite Base. The 1976 two Viking landers were the first landers to land on Mars and took the first pictures of the red planet. This highly detailed 3 x 2 inch model is centered on a 4 x 4 inch wooden base that is covered with both powder and small nuggets of the Campo del Cielo Iron-Nickel meteorite. Estimated Value $200 - 500
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Realized
$422 |
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Lot 11 |
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Sculpture-like Sikhote-Alin Iron Nickel Meteorite. Sikhote-Aline iron-nickel meteorites are the best preserved of all known iron-nickel meteorites having fallen in Siberia in February, 1947. The best specimens were recovered within a few years and do not show the rust loss that most iron-nickel meteorites show. This sculpture-like 9.8 gram 32 x 22 x 7 mm specimen is a very shape with arm-like extensions with several regmaglypts on its dark gray surface. Comes with a 1¼ inch magnetic stand for display. Estimated Value $200 - 600
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Lot 12 |
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Four Major Shapes of Indochinite Tektites. When an enormous meteorite impacted the earth 700,000 years ago in Southeast Asia, the vaporized layers of the uppermost layers of rocks solidified in the earth's atmosphere forming the black cratered Tektites know as Indochinites. They are found throughout Southeastern Asia and Southern China. The rate and temperature of solidification as well as the orientation of the rock determined what shapes the glossy black tektites formed. This collection is of the four major shapes. There is a 1½ inch round, a 2¾ inch flattened round disk, a 3¼ inch dumbbell and a 2¾ inch teardrop shape. Estimated Value $200 - 600
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Lot 14 |
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Small Lunar Mingled Regolith Breccia Meteorite Section. This 11 x 6 mm .144 gram section is from the important Lunar impact meteorite NWA 6888. Almost all of the recovered Lunar meteorites are very small and NWA 6888 found in the Suellila Plateau of the Western Sahara on May 26, 2011 weighed just 208 grams. This important meteorite is classified as a Lunar Regolith 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 5½ x 4½ inch Riker mount. Estimated Value $150 - 400
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Realized
$153 |
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Lot 15 |
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Bernhard Hohmann: Important Personal Documents Detailing Luftwaffe Scientists Admission into America in 1945, "Paperclip Specialists" (1916-1984) Brilliant engineer and glider pilot prior to WWII, Bernhard Hohmann joined the Luftwaffe and became a pilot at Peenemuende, making 37 test flights of the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet fighter and its various unpowered prototypes. Offered is a remarkable and fascinating file broadly known as Operation Paperclip.
Document 1.) After the war Hohmann surrendered to the Americans and on September 19, 1946 he along with 25 other German nationals were flown to the United States, Fort Dix, New Jersey reporting upon arrival to the Port Commander, Port of Debarkation for temporary duty for the purpose of carrying out their assigned mission. Upon completion of this duty, the civilians named below will be returned to this theater" This text from an original, two-page document in this lot
Document 2.) Memorandum To: German and Austrian Scientists dated June 30, 1947, Wright Field, Ohio employed by this Command. This document outlines the rather security procedures regarding mail from the United to Germany and Austria. Included in the procedures the scientists and dependants under present War Department Regulations, the sending of cigarettes to Germany and Austria is prohibited. The War Department has requested this Command to remind all scientists that mail regulations must be strictly compiled (sic) with and violations of regulations may result in the cancellation of employment and return to Europe. Document reveals the location that many of these German/Austrian scientists did serve at Wright Field, Ohio.
Document 3.) Vintage original copy by Treasury Department dated Oct. 15, 1945 the authorization to pay the German and Austrian Nationals $200 per month
Document 4.) November 1, 1947 All German and Austrian Paperclip Specialist. While again another regulations memo regarding mailing of packages this is the first instance in the Hohmann archive that addresses by name those nationals that came to the states under the banner Operation Paperclip
Document 5.) November 3, 1947 Memo of change of quarters at Wright Field again "All Paperclip Specialists" moving them to larger quarters and being charged $5 .
Document 6.) Large file involving US Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service to Mrs. Irmgard Hohman "for the privilege of preexamination for the purpose of facilitating your entry into Canada to secure an immigration visa with which to reenter the United States lawfully for permanent residence. Also includes similar paperwork for Bernard Hohman for path to citizenship.
Document 7.) Dated Feb 3. 1953 Restricted Security Information for Hohmann to travel from Wright AFB to Germany for the purpose of "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" and upon completion return to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
Also included is a radio interview from May 1962 by Dick Wall April, May 1962 on KGBS 7" reel to reel tape in excellent condition.
This is a significant trove of original documents and letters outlining (much in German, untranslated) a remarkable and possibly unsettling chapter of American history that was the post-War resettling of German and Austrian Luftwaffe scientists in the service of increasing military might in rocket research known as Operation Paperclip. We offer Bernhard Hohmann's extensive archive and his achievements for the US Military and Space Travel. Estimated Value $1,500 - 3,000
From the Estate of Bernard "Ben" Hohmann, WWII Luftwaffe German Test Pilot and Jet Engine Designer, Operation Paperclip, Decades Long Air Force and NASA Consultant.
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Realized
$2,750 |
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