South Africa’s first meteorite auction will offer enthusiasts an opportunity to expand their collection of “treasures from space”.
Prior to the 1960s private ownership of meteorites was rare. Most specimens were kept in museums and at universities.
But that is no longer the case. Nowadays surplus meteorites are made available to the public - their value determined by rarity‚ origin‚ preservation‚ whether their arrival on earth was well-documented‚ and their beauty. Some specimens sell for $2 a gram (about R25) to as much as $1 000 a gram (R12 500).
“As the auction market evolves we need to move with it. This auction‚ of some items older than the earth itself‚ is a step in a new direction‚” said Anton Welz‚ divisional head of Stephan Welz & Co Fine Art and Design Auctioneers.
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Some of the meteorite specimens that will be auctioned by the company at Johannesburg’s Killarney Country Club on May 29 originated on the moon or Mars. Their journey to earth could have lasted mere days or millions of years‚ depending on their origin‚ the company said in a statement.
In his book 'Meteorites: A Southern African Perspective'‚ collector Ronnie McKenzie explains that “meteorites are the remnants of meteors from outer space that have survived the corridor of fire through Earth's atmosphere and landed on our planet” as extra-terrestrial arrivals.
Collectors‚ according to McKenzie‚ gather specimens from diverse meteorite groups (irons‚ stones‚ and stony-irons) to slices that show the stones’ interior. There is also a market for whole meteorite pieces‚ spheres and different materials.
For those starting their collection‚ McKenzie suggests bidding for a pedigreed meteorite from a fall that’s well-known and documented (‘witnessed’)‚ instead of a non-pedigreed specimen.
Some of the items to go under the hammer include:
- an Esquel Pallasite slice that was discovered in 1951 by a farmer in Argentina.
- Monze Chondrite pieces - the 1950 Monze meteorite fall in Zambia was witnessed by thousands of people.
- Gibeon Iron Fine Octahedrita Iva - one of the most stable iron meteorites‚ ideal for making jewellery.
No South African meteorites will be sold at the auction as they remain the property of the state and cannot be traded unless a permit is obtained from the South African Heritage Resource Agency.