We don't pretend to be seriously in the meteorite business, but some of you have asked if we could supply specimens. Here are a few for your consideration.
New selection of baby Campo del Cielo irons added October, 2006
New Bulk Nantans just added at bottom of page February 7, 2006
Northwest Africa Unclassified Stony meteorites New Section April 24, 2005!!!
NWA chondrites
The specimens that have been coming in abundance out of the Sahara Desert in the last few years represent a collecting opportunity unlikely to be repeated in the history of this planet. Where meteorites come from is far more significant than where they happened to fall. Never-the-less, the impressive output of the hot desert countries has been lumped under the broad NWA heading, and has been irrationally treated as a bulk commodity. There is no greater concentration of meteorites there than anywhere else, but the area lends itself to preservation and discovery exceptionally well. The nomads have developed a sharp eye for this source of supplemental income and have had a lot of fun for the last few years. But when they're gone, they're gone, and there are clear signs that the supply is getting lean.
Someday fairly soon, it is going to dawn on the collecting community that a meteorite is a meteorite wherever it fell, and that is a marvelous fact! This material is going to appreciate in value dramatically. The pieces listed below are not attributed to named falls. Conceptually, each piece could be submitted for classification and named and published. Most are probably ordinary chondrites, but who knows? Some are 100% crusted and what lies within has never been seen by man.
We've been resisting getting into meteorites, but in 2005at Tucson, I could no longer stand it. There were still fully crusted meteorites to be had at prices lower than tektites! This won't last folks. It is an aberation in history. Every Moroccan dealer I saw, I asked about meteorites, and most had a stash. I cherry-picked the best (before the show started---), and I must admit, I've been reluctant to offer them for sale. Mark these words: in a few years, pieces of this quality are going to skyrocket. When your grandkids inherit them, they will be untouchable. In this generation, the world is being scoured. This is a bubble in time.
These pieces are not priced by the gram. They are priced by specimen quality. Some you might find it absurd, but I really don't care if I never sell them. The prevailing low prices are what is absurd. Get on board or stand in the bushes and bark. This train is going past.
I can provide additional images on request. Click on the pictures below to see a larger image. Close the resulting window to return to this page.
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154.6 gms | This is a flattish piece, about 90% crusted. There are a few chips along the rim, and
I gave one of the chipped areas a swipe with a diamond hone to reveal metal blebs. Classic rounded shoulders, and
arguably oriented. The back is quite flat and is bordered by a sharply angled edge. |
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142.0 gms | This is a fine example of all a stony meteorite should be. Regmaglypted, about 80% crusted
(with missing areas consisting of thin chips and flakes, none fresh. |
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137.7 gms | Waaay nicer than a single picture can show. About 60% crusted (the base is a broken but desert varnished surface), but an excellent display piece. Neat regmaglypts and rounded edges. $100 |
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131.2 gms | A big piece with an impressive heft. About 75% crusted |
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123.4 gms | A great individual. At least 85% crusted with only skin-thick flakes (like the one visible
in the image) missing. Nice regmaglypts. $100 |
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97.2 gms | Gorgeous! 95% crusted, superb form. A great piece. |
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90.1 gms | 90% crusted and fabulous shape. Just the kind of specimen you would select to pass around a classroom. I would put this on MY shelf anytime. $105 |
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79.7 gms | 100% fusion crusted, some of which is secondary. |
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68.1 gms | This one has a flat base with what I take to be a light secondary crust. The balance is at least 80% crusted. $45 |
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65.4 gms | Nice overall form and about 75% crusted. |
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62.5 gms | 50 - 60% crusted with deeper very coarse-surfaced breaks. From the textures of these broken
surfaces, I suspect there may be lots of chondrules packed in there. A good candidate for a cut and polished face.
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57.6 gms | A very satisfying piece with triangular facets and acute, but rounded corners. The base (relative to the photo) is broken with a thin secondary crust or heavy desert varnish. I'm not sure which. About 70% crusted overall. $50 |
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55.7 gms | A thinner plate with pleasing form. About 80% crusted. $40 |
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48.8 gms | Bottom surface is a flattish break while the upper half has good form. Another good candidate
for a cut and polished facet. About 60% crusted. |
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48.1 gms | Here is a beauty with about 98% fusion crust, great morphology, a heavy texture showing through the skin. $50 |
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45.8 gms | The side visible in the photo is very pleasing, but much of the back is faceted with rough
textured breaks. Another good candidate for a cut and polished face. I gave one broken edge a swipe with a diamond
file to reveal abundant metal flecks. Overall, about 60% crusted. |
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44.6 gms | About 60% crusted; some rough-surfaced broken facets. |
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43.6 gms | An exceptionally fine piece; one of the best. Great form with shallow regmaglypts classic
rounded edges, and about 98% fusion crust! $ |
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40.1 gms | Another nice specimen to pass around a class-room. About 75 or 80% crusted. |
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37.2 gms | One of the very best. A totally cool little stone. I think there's one little flake missing, but the resulting surface is either heavily varnished or filmed with a thin secondary crust such that it's hard to be sure. Overall chunky with similar X,Y,Z dimensions. $50 |
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36.0 gms | Nice shape, but backside has a rough-textured break and one acute corner is broken. $25 |
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34.6 gms | A fragment with about 40% crusting. This would be another good on to cut and polish one of the broken surfaces. $20Sold |
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34.2 gms | COMPLETE individual. 100% fusion crusted with shallow regmaglypts and classic stony meteorite character. $40Sold |
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31.3 gms | About 70% complete with some rough-textured corner breaks. $20plete |
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28.3 gms | COMPLETE individual with a few small chips along edges---say 96% crusted. Very nice form. $40 |
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26.7 gms | A glorious COMPLETE individual missing only a few thin skin flakes. Nice asteroidal form with cute regmaglypts. $40Sold |
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26.2 gms | Rough-surfaced breaks about where my thumb and index fingers touch the specimen in the photo. About 60% crusted. $16Sold |
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24.9 gms | Complete individual with some chipped edges. Quite glossy skin. About 80% crusted. $20Sold |
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24.3 gms | Nice little guy with quite definite secondary crusting. About 90% crusted. $20 |
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22.9 gms | A half stone, the back surface relative to the photo being a flattish break. However, the piece is unusual for the very glossy skin visible on the photographed side. $15 On hold IM 1/05/07 |
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22.0 gms | Nearly complete individual. One rough chip about the size of a little fingernail. $15 |
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21.4 gms | Chipped corners. About 60% crusted. $12Sold |
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21.3 gms | Partly ORIENTED complete individual. Study the picture carefully and you will see some
splatted streaks associated with an acute roll-over lip. Only about half of the perimeter of this specimen is lipped,
although the balance also shows a melt build-up. A truly exceptional little piece! |
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20.7 gms | ABSOLUTELY COMPLETE INDIVIDUAL, not the slightest chip missing. $30 |
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20.1 gms | I like this one a lot. Missing only a few small chips, call it 95% complete and
crusted. Noteworthy for its very sharp, acute angles. A gem. |
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20.0 gms | A half-stone. They back of this is a flattish, fairly fresh break. Gind it flat and polish it. $13 Sold |
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19.3 gms | COMPLETE individual. One little chip. Call it 98-99% complete and crusted. Sweet! $ |
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18.3 gms | COMPLETE individual. No noteworthy chips or flakes. $20Sold |
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18.1 gms | A few edge chips make this a bonus piece at $10Sold. |
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17.4 gms | VERY nice COMPLETE INDIVIDUAL. A couple of teensy chips, say 99.8% complete and very aesthetically
shaped. $ |
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17.0 gms | Break on back side, probably about a 2/3rds stone. $10Sold |
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14.7 gms | COMPLETE INDIVIDUAL, exceptionally ornate shape. a few paper-thin little flakes missing from skin. $18Sold |
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14.7 gms (b) | Heavy internal texture shows through skin, including one larger round melt-resistant chondrule. I'm not sure how to read thes heavily textured pieces, but I suspect they may be beautiful inside--- I'd call this about 98% crusted. $15Sold |
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13.7 gms | Complete individual with only the tiniest of edge chips. $12Sold |
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13.6 gms | FLAWLESS 100% COMPLETE AND CRUSTED LITTLE BEAUTY! $ |
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13.4 gms | Another very rough-textured piece with lots of little chondrules insinuating themselves
through the crust. |
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8.7 gms | Cute little individual with one chipped apex providing a window into a fairly fresh
interior. |
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8.2 gms | ABSOLUTLEY COMPLETE individual. $ |
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4.8 gms | ABSOLUTLEY COMPLETE individual. $ |
To order, email us at nlehrman@nvbell.net citing NWA and the gram weights listed above.
Campo del Cielo Nickel-irons
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The perfect meteorite for show & tell at school! I wanted a supply of little irons that match the average person's image of what a meteorite should look like. And I wanted them to be about the right size for a kid to take to school for show and tell--- Hefty enough to be impressive, but not likely to do too much damage if dropped on one's toes. These "baby" Campos are perfect. Solid metal with lots of classic regmaglypts. These are great for sharing in that they have a cool story as well. The northern Argentina locality where they are found is called Campo del Cielo, literally "field of the sky". The name almost certainly stems back to the liklihood that there were people on hand to witness this monstrous impact event some 4000 years ago. And it was Big. The biggest single piece thus far recovered weighs 31 tons! The local natives showed these strange sky rocks to the Spanish conquistadors in 1576. Pieces are still being found today. While there are lots of big ones, these small individuals are quite uncommon. These have been thoroughly cleaned of the heavy rust characteristic of most pieces as they are found. |
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1 --- 163.5
gms --- $ 2 ---199.9 gms ---$60 --------------9 ---205.1 gms --- $62 3 ---192.3 gms --- $58 --------------10 --261.1 gms ---$78 4 ---190.9 gms ---$57 --------------11 --194.3 gms ---$58 -5 ---186.4 gms ---$ 6 ---203.2 gms --- $61 --------------13 ---196.1 gms ---$59 7 ---193.4 gms
---$58 --------------14 ---222.7 gms ---$ |
Imilac, Chile
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During my recent stay in Chile, I was able to acquire these nice little Imilac
skeletons. These are pallasites in which the olivines have been mostly destroyed by terrestrial weathering, leaving
the intricate nickel-iron framework. I sorted through a kilo or two in order to pick the most aesthetic little
sculptures. These range in weight from 1.5 to 3.3 gms. Your choice: $10 each |
Nantan, China
These are some gorgeous Nantans (from Nandan, Guangxi, China). This fall was witnessed during the Ming Dynasty in mid-summer, 1516. "---stars fell from the northwest direction, five to six fold long, waving like snakes and dragons. They were as bright as lightning and disappeared in seconds". Pieces of this coarse Octahedrite (IIICD) were first collected in 1958. These specimens have been tumbled and stabilized. The larger specimens are all in the form of tetrahedral pyramids, boldly revealing the same Widmanstatten structure that normally requires cutting, polishing, and acid-etching to reveal.
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This material is quite unique. Beautiful, bright metallic nickel-iron in shapes variously modified from tetrahedrons. These pieces are approximately one inch in diameter, and weigh 50 to 80 grams each. Click on the small image for a larger version with weight and pricing details. Price is based on a combination of weight and perfection of form. |
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Here are some small bits (perfect for tie-tacks or charm bracelets!). Most are thin plates
with maximum dimensions of 10-15 mm (0.5"), weighing 0.6 to 2.0 gms. $8 each. Click on the small image for a larger version |
New, February 2006: I just got around to opening a bulk shipment of tektites that I ordered from China last year, and to my surprise, they were little Nantan meteorites! They are mostly just good for illustrating how an iron meteorite terrestrializes over a 500 year period. All are strongly attracted to a magnet, but they're very rusty. Don't expect too much, but the price is right! $20 per kilo. About 120 pieces per kg---that's about 17 cents per specimen! (Sold only in kilo quantities). Sorry, they're all gone
Don't overlook the new Sikhote Aline BULLET page. Click Here.
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