 | | | Collecting and preserving meteorites since 1998. |
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We purchased this hexahedrite from a well-known meteorite dealer several years ago. He had left the main mass largely intact, but one end of the meteorite was partly cut. We donated a type specimen to UCLA, and the rest (these two pieces) is being offered here. We will not be cutting the main mass further. The total known weight of the iron is ~395 grams. It consisted of a shield-shaped individual, apparently with a heat-rim still preserved on the dome-shaped portion of the mass, as is visible in the specimens below (despite what the bulletin says about this meteorite not possessing a heat-altered rim).
Hexahedrites are fairly uncommon, and pretty ones are even more rare. This one is stunning. Depending on the angle at which light strikes the slice, brilliant neumann bands and sparkles (not sure what's making those) are visible. If you line things up just right, the matrix turns black, but you can still see the neumann bands. It's fun stuff to play with in sunlight.
I've looked around and found NWA irons selling for between $2 and $100 per gram. They tend to be more expensive when they're smaller -- huge irons like Tafawet (NWA 860) and Tata (NWA 1430) were diced and sold for between $2 and $10 per gram, usually depending on the size of the piece being offered, and slices of other NWA irons average around $20-60 per gram, from what I've seen. I've priced these two pieces in the middle of that range, which I think is fair. Fresh hexahedrites are rare enough as-is, and the total amount of available material from this one is ~35 grams (all you see below).
9.081 gram complete slice - $45 per gram - $410
I don't know what else to say about this...look at the photos. It's a stunning piece. Polished and etched on one side, sawn and lightly sanded on the other. Great partial heat-rim.
9.081 gram complete slice - $45 per gram - $410
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25.533 gram endcut - $40 per gram - $1,020
The photos of this piece really don't do it justice. The cut face is really hard to get well in a picture. Either way, you can clearly see the thin black rhabdite (super thin schreibersite) inclusions, the stress cracks mentioned in the bulletin writeup, and the partial heat-altered rim. I tried to get a few photos of the "sparkles," and they actually came out alright, but it's something else to watch them cross the face while you tilt it. Rear is desert-varnished.
25.533 gram endcut - $40 per gram - $1,020
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*I managed to get some better/different photos of the etch on the slice, so you might take a look at those images for a better idea of what the etch on the end-piece looks like.
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