Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 40

Manuscript and Collectibles Auction

Meteorites

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 738		Aesthetic Large 7.5 Pound Campo Dell Cielo Iron-Nickel Meteorite. This 6.5 x 5 x 2 inch iron-nickle meteorite, weighing a hefty 7.5 pounds, has an aesthetically sculpted shape with many small thumbprints called regmaglypts. The best specimens of Campos known as "new" Campos have been found higher up the mountain from the older ones that were found in a valley. Campo del Cielo translates as "Valley of the Sky" and fell more than 4000 years ago in Argentina. These meteorites were written about by Spanish explorers in 1576 and a huge 60 ton meteorite was taken back to Spain and melted down for its iron. Add $30 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $600 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $449
Lot 739		An Affordable Moon Rock From A Lunar Meteorite. A Lunar meteorite designated Dhofar 1180 was found by meteorite hunter Mike Farmer in the deserts of Oman on Jan. 18, 2005. This lunar meteorite weighed 115 grams and was officially analyzed and determined to be from the moon and given the official designation Dhofar 1180. This sizeable but affordable specimen is 1.4 x 0.5 cm in size and weighs 0.144 grams. It has been polished and is dark grey in color with interesting white circular clasts. In meteorite terminology, it is a basalt bearing feldspathic regolith breccia that contains about 75% anorthositic material and 25% mare material. It is a breccia, which means that rock material was mixed from a molten state after a large meteorite struck the moon, causing the moon rock to be vaporized and ejected from the lunar surface and it eventually found its way to earth. This rare lunar meteorite is housed in a special suspension box so that every part of its surface can be examined without removing the delicate thin section. It is also housed in a 5.5 x 4.5 inch Riker box for display. Add $10 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $288
Lot 740		Beautiful Polished Section Of A Brand New Pallasite Meteorite. Pallasites are by far the rarest of the major types of meteorites and are thought to have originated at the mantle-core boundary of a very large differentiated asteroids that was destroyed during the early formation of the solar system. They are a combination of iron-nickle and olivine crystals. The gemstone of olivine known as peridot are mixed in the iron-nickle matrix. One large 1003 kgmeteorited was recoverd near Fukang, China in 2000. This valuable meteorite was sold to aconsortium of buyers for million of dollors and most of it remians intact and will not be sold. What makes this meteorite so special is that thecrystals of olivine are huge compared to the other known pallasites. This large 6.5" x 3.75" inch specimen weigh 138 gms and has been thinly cut at great loss of metal gemstone from space is hosued in a 8.5X6.5 inc Riker mount. Add $25 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $3,250 - 4,500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $3,105
Lot 741		Collection Of Three Carved Scarabs Made From A Meteorite, Libyan Desert Glass And Moldavite. One of the most highly prized jewels in ancient Egypt was Libyan Desert Glass, A tektile formed from a meteorite impact and found only between the mega-dunes of the Great Sand Sea in the Western desert of Egypt near the border with Libya. The Egyptians carved scarabs out of this precious glass, one was found as the centerstone of an amulet in King Tuts tomb. With this history in mind, three small scarabs measuring 05. to 0.75 inch in lenght have been meticulously carved from Libyan Desert Glass, Moldavite, and an actual stony meteorite. Moldavite is a beautiful green tektite found in Czechoslovakia. Also included in the collections is an uncut 1.25 inch long piece of green Moldavite and a 1.25x1.25 inch stony meteorite. The collection is displayed in a 4x3.25 inch Riker Mount. This unique grouping should appear to collectors of artifacts from Egypt as well as meteorite collectors. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $425 - 550. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,208
Lot 742		Large Sharpnel Type Sikhote-Alin Iron-Nickel Meteorite With A Small Natural Hole. This large 4"x2.75" 392 grams Sikhote-Alin iron nickel meteorite is a very attractive example of the sharpnel type of Sikhote-Alin meteorites with some very sharp edges on the top and side to indicate what a tremendous explosion occured when this very large meteorite entered the earth's atmosphere on Feb 10, 1947 high above the Sikhote-Alin moutains of Siberia. The resulting explosion knocked people off their feet several miles away from the balast.What makes this dark gray meteorite so special is a small natural hole near the jogged top that burned out clearing the short time the meteorite travelled through the atmosphere after the explosion of the main mass. Any meteorites with natural holes are in tremendous demand by collector. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $500 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $604
Lot 743		Large, Heavy 5 Pounds Meteorite Sphere. Large etched iron-nickle meteorite spheres are highly sought after by both meteorite collectors and also collectors of mineral spheres. This 3"diameter 5 pound Campo del Cielo sphere has a lovely widmanstatten pattern from the etching, as well as darker areas of graphite and troilite inclusions as found in this meteorite. The intersting-looking widmanstatten pattern results from two different alloys of nickle which have separated from each other by the asteroid core where this meteorite originated from cooling very slowly over several million years. Campo del Cielo meteorites fell 3,000-5,000 years ago in Chaco, Argentina. They are extremely difficult to cut beacuse of the many silicate and graphite inclusions which break the cutting lathes; large spheres are rare because more than 75% of the original meteorite is lost in the cutting process. The meteorite from which this sphere was produced weighed more than 20 pounds before it was cut. Add $25 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,600 - 2,250. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $4,370
Lot 744		Own A Piece Of The Moon And Mars. The rarest of all meteorites are those that originate from the Moon and Mars. Only when extremely large asteroids explode into their surface are rocks from the Moon and Mars ejected into space, and only a very few ever make their way to Earth. Most meteorites that fall to Earth are as the solar system itself, 4.55 billion years old. Meteorites from the Moon and Mars are much younger. Beside their age, various isotopes can determine which meteorites emanted from the Moon and which from Mars. These 2x2 mm sections were cut, polished and placed in 4"x3" Riker mount. The entire Moon meteorite, from which this specimen was sliced, weighed only 1 ounce and was found on April 22, 2001 in the Sahara Desert of Oman. The Mars specimen came from a meteorite that weighed just over 4 pounds and was also found in the Sahara Desert of Oman. The Moon meteorite was certified by the Institute of Planetary Physics at UCLA, while the Mars meteorite was certified by the Vernadsky Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Both meteorites come with certificates of Authenticity and detailed information on their composition as well as color photos of the whole meteorite. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $242