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I purchased this meteorite a few years ago from a Moroccan source because good chondrules were visible on the exterior and it appeared to be brecciated. Cut slices showed just that -- good chondrules and brecciation.
It's classified as an L4 S4 W5, and is a very pretty compared to your run-of-the-mill chondrite. Unpolished slices show great chondrules that make the stone look like a type 3 chondrite, but few are visible on polished sides without moderate magnification. Brecciation is also clearest on unpolished surfaces. Large veins of iron oxide shine metallically in all of the slices, and reflected light reveals abundant chondrules rimmed in shiny iron oxides (weathered armoured chondrules).
I had Marlin Cilz cut around 1/3 of the stone, so the main mass is still mostly preserved. The six complete slices are all that will be sold, and each is expertly polished on one side and wire-cut on the other.
It's pretty stuff, but the polish on each slice is so good that they were very hard to photograph well...the camera kept focusing on reflections of the surrounding trees. Something to note -- if one of these photos catches your eye, it's probably the lighting or reflection of the given photograph, and does not reflect a difference between the quality of the polish on a given slice. They're all flawless.
18.154 gram complete slice - $63
As you can see, stellar preparation -- the tan mark visible in the second photo was a bit of cutting dust that was removed with a toothbrush (dry) prior to weighing the specimen. Great chondrules, great breccia, and as fine of a polish as I've seen on a stony meteorite. Great lightning-like vein of oxide.
18.154 grams - $63
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20.786 gram complete slice - $72
Same chondrules and brecciation as above, and similar oxide vein (though perhaps a bit larger in this slice?). I threw in a photo of the reflections of nearby trees that the camera kept trying to focus on. As you can see, the polish on these slices is rather fine...
20.786 gram complete slice - $72
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25.640 gram complete slice - $90
The brecciation is a bit clearer in this slice, and there are a few oddly red chondrules visible on the polished side of the slice. The oxide vein on this slice is near the edge and is a little harder to make out in the photos, but it's still there. Really pretty slice with a lot going on.
25.640 gram complete slice - $90
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26.094 gram complete slice - $91
For some reason, the polished side of this slice seems to show the brecciation better than the other slices -- in photos at least. I'm not sure why that is. Either way, it has the same great chondrules and the oxide veins in this slice are a little more interwoven (visible in top photo). Pretty cool..
26.094 gram complete slice - $91
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26.478 gram complete slice - $93
Ok, ok. I know I went a little camera-happy. I just wanted to show off what this meteorite looks like in different lighting. It's all over the place! The weird circular line visible in one of the photos (4th from top) is a reflection from the front of my camera, so don't pay that any heed. Beyond that...check out the chondrules, brecciation, etc. It's a really stunning meteorite.
26.478 gram complete slice - $93
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26.714 gram complete slice - $93.50
I wanted the photos of this last slice to really show off this meteorite's apparently not-quite-type-3 chondrules. To be frank, when you look at the third photo in this last series, I think it's clear that this is a polymict breccia. Take a look at the clast on the far left, and compare to the rest of the meteorite. The matrix looks to be type 3, and the clasts (more reddish) appear to be type 4 or 5 material. Since this was not noted in the analysis...well, it's a more special meteorite than your average type 4.
26.714 gram complete slice - $93.50
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