Bonhams' Natural History sale, at which the huge Palawan Princess pearl is being sold, is also offering a selection of meteorites.
The range is quite small - just 15 lots - but a few will certainly catch a serious space collector's eye.
One interesting piece is a slice of the Albin meteorite from Wyoming. The pallasite was first noticed in 1915, but it was not recognised as a meteorite until 1935. On offer here is a long slice weighing 165g displaying a classic mixture of iron rich stone and yellow-green olivine crystals.
The Mars rocks are limited, as you would expect. There are fragments in a couple of collections of tiny meteorite pieces, and a tiny 0.5g Saharan piece expected to sell for around $700 (though with so few Mars rocks to go round, that's very unpredictable).
The best piece for a Mars obsessive however is a slice of the LA002 meteorite which landed in Los Angeles ten years ago.
 Basaltic Shergottite from Mars |
The 5.5g fragment is from a basaltic shergottite - an igneous Martian rock which it's argued may have been exposed to water before leaving the Red Planet judging by deposits on the outside. The lot is expected to achieve $7,000-9,000.
The Mars meteorites are not the highest valued lots, however. These are two large and beautiful pallasite pieces from the Fukang meteorite fall.
 Fukang pallasite meteorite (Click to enlarge) |
The two etched and polished pieces are a 700g slice, cut square, and a more naturally shaped piece of 1.29kg. Considering how few pallasites, which make up less than 1% of meteorite falls, make it to Earth at all, and most of them are shattered or vapourised completely, the Fukang pieces are extraordinary.
They are estimated at $14,000-16,000 and $25,000-35,000 respectively. Either would make an excellent centrepiece for a collection. The sale takes place on December 6.
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Images: Bonhams
