[meteorite-list] TKW New Shergottite from Tata

From: Darryl Pitt <darryl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 09:29:57 -0500
Message-ID: <87DF4142-6285-4CD6-A306-B98E22406B54_at_dof3.com>

Hi,

The 0.652 gram specimen of the new shergottite from Tata sold on ebay for $315 or $483/g.

I was asked what prompted my first auction on eBay. Candidly, I had been thinking about doing this for a really long time. (Facebook is next ;-) Given the number of fragments associated with this fall, and my being advised I was the first U.S. dealer to have received material, it just seemed like the perfect moment to do so. My next auction offering will include a small specimen of the most difficult to obtain Martian meteorite publicly available: Governador Valadares. Look for it later today or tomorrow.

==========

TKW of the New Shergottite from Tata

There has been a lot of banter concerning the TKW of this extraordinary meteorite. Some folks have suggested there are nearly twenty kilos and that there will be "more than enough for everyone" while other have expressed a more constrained amount of material. It would appear a hybrid of both statements is accurate.

Numerous sources on whom I've long relied assure me we are ultimately looking at less than 10 kg of material. However, there IS more than enough for everyone! Apparently numerous meteorites shattered on impact after having struck a rocky outcropping, and exploded into THOUSANDS of sub gram fragments. If there was ever a planetary that did not have to be sliced (except for thin section needs) and where cut loss does not factor into the economics----this is it. Even at $1000/g or more, a price point we should anticipate in the near future, specimens will be within reach.

In the meantime, I still have a few specimens for sale here: http://www.rocksfromspace.org/MARS.html

If you're interested in additional sub-gram specimens, please contact me off list.

If you haven't already done so, you want to acquire a bit of this meteorite as soon as possible. You do not want to be one of the folks muttering "I can't believe I didn't buy [Sanctioned Name] when it first hit the market Christmas 2011"



All the best / Darryl

 
Received on Tue 03 Jan 2012 09:29:57 AM PST