Lot 1672
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 huge, over-3-pound, 4.75 x 4 x 3 inch large specimen of Libyan Desert Glass is unusually pristine from being buried in the Sahara sand (near the border of Libya and Egypt). It is medium green in color with a smooth glossy bottom, having just beneath the surface small white spheres 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. There are some regmaglypts as well as small holes in the surface and the specimen stands on its own. This is one of the largest specimens of Libyan Desert Glass ever auctioned and is especially valuable. A small 125-gram specimen sold for over $6,000 in a New York auction in October, 2007.
Add $20 to domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $1,800 - 2,500.
|
| |
| Realized $1,980 |
