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LOT 2489
Natural History - Campo del Cielo Meteorite Group
FELL 6000-5000 YEARS B.P.
1/2 in. (5.95 grams total, 14-15 mm).
A trio of differently sized nickel iron (IAB) meteorites with a composition of 92.9% iron, 6.7% nickel. [3, No Reserve]
ProvenanceDiscovered 1576 A.D., Chaco Province, Argentina.
Ex German dealer 2018.
UK private collection.
See Graham, Bevan and Hutchison ed., Catalogue of Meteorites, Natural History Museum, 1985, p.88, for details of this fall.
FootnotesA 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 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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Natural History - Iridescent Fossil Ammonite
Cretaceous Period, 113-100 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Both sides displaying vibrant colours. 90 grams, 70 mm
From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection. -
Natural History - Mosasaur Fossil Jaw Section
Late Cretaceous Period, 70 million years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Comprising a partial jaw and two teeth from Igdamanosaurus aegyptiacus. 110 grams, 72 mm
From the Oulad Abdoun Basin, Morocco, North Africa. Collected between 1930 and 1960. From the collection of the palaeontologist R Gledhill.
Most Mosasaurs had sharp teeth that had evolved to grab slippery prey such as fish. Igdamanosaurus had semi-spherical teeth with rounded points, which were better suited for crushing tough-armoured prey such as turtles, ammonites, nautili, and bivalves. -
Natural History - Campo del Cielo Meteorite Group
Fell 6000-5000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
A trio of differently sized nickel iron (IAB) meteorites with a composition of 92.9% iron, 6.7% nickel. 5.95 grams total, 14-15 mm
Discovered 1576 A.D., Chaco Province, Argentina. Ex German dealer 2018. UK private collection.
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 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.
