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LOT 3216
Mineral and Crystal Specimen Collection
1 1/4 - 3 in. (575 grams total, 30-78 mm).
Comprising: mica, green calcite, green fluorite, amethyst, pink tourmaline on a matrix, twinned staurolite, aragonite cluster, melanite, tumbled serpentine specimen, and a bottle of 'gold leaf' in propylene alcohol. [10, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of Mr Carlos Bahamonde, Manchester, UK.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 3216
Mineral and Crystal Specimen Collection
Estimate £50 - 70€58 - 81 (for guidance only)$68 - 95 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
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Campo Del Cielo Iron Meteorite
Fell 6000-5000 years B.P.Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising an irregular iron (IAB) meteorite. 3.04 grams, 17 mm
From Chaco Province, Argentina, the fall was discovered in 1576. Previously in a private collection formed in the 2000s. Acquired at auction in the UK. Property of a West Sussex, UK, gentleman.
A crater field of roughly 26 craters was found in the vicinity of this crater, which is estimated to date to 4-5 thousand years BP. The age of the meteorite itself is thought to be c.4.5 billion years, formed as part of the development of this solar system. The largest two fragments, the 30.8 ton Gancedo and 28.8 ton El Chaco, are among the heaviest meteorite masses ever recovered on Earth. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a large mass of iron, which it was believed the local people claimed had fallen from the sky and which they used for their weapon production. The expedition discovered a large mass of metal which was assumed to be an iron mine and brought back a few samples, which were described as being of unusual purity. Following the legends, in 1774 Don Bartolomé Francisco de Maguna rediscovered the iron mass. He himself did not believe that the stone had fallen from the sky and assumed that it had formed by a volcanic eruption. However, he sent the samples to the Royal Society of London. In 1990, it became protected by law. -
Fossil Orthoceras Polished Heart-Shaped Dish
Devonian Period, circa 385-359 million years B.P.Estimate: £20 - 30 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Shallow heart-shaped dish carved from fossiliferous stone with partial Orthoceras specimens. 155 grams, 10.2 cm wide
Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection. -
Tiger Iron Mineral Rock Display Slice
Circa 2.2 billion years B.P.Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Polished slab showing contrasting banding in various shades of brown. 875 grams, 20.5 x 15.2 cm
From Western Australia. Property of a Bristol, UK, gentleman collector.
Tiger iron is a 1.8- to 2.5-billion-year-old metamorphic rock composed of alternating bands of hematite, red jasper, and golden tiger's eye, closely linked in origin to ancient photosynthetic cyanobacteria. Early fossil algae helped create the oxygen-rich atmosphere that eventually allowed life on Earth to flourish.
