“meteorites” About 1

  • Auction Industry
    Meteorites at Auction: A Category Spotlight

    How much do meteorites sell for at auction? And how often are they made available? Sericho Pallasitic Meteorite Sphere. Photo by Bonhams. Sericho, Kenya’s only rocks are meteorites. So many litter the ground south of town that elders reminisce about playing on mounds of them when they were children. A Sericho pallasitic meteorite (estimate: USD 18,000 - $22,000) is among the top lots in Bonhams' upcoming Natural History auction. The December sale is the latest example of meteorites at auction, with almost 30 different meteorites, among other lots. Those unfamiliar with the category may consider meteorites priceless and unattainable. However, examples find their way to the auction block regularly and at a wide range of prices. In the lead-up to Bonhams' Natural History sale, Auction Daily answers a few frequently asked questions about meteorites at auction.  How often do meteorites come to auction? Phillips is often credited for establishing the auction market for meteorites, with a 1995 sale headlined by several notable examples. The event realized $300,000, and the following year's sale reached $700,000. Since then, meteorites are usually featured in several auctions each year. Recently, this has been thanks to frequent natural history auctions by Bonhams and Sotheby’s, as well as annual meteorite auctions by Christie’s. Lunar sphere (NWA 12691). Photo by Christie’s. However, there is not an unlimited supply of meteorites auction houses can offer. "Although there are more than 60,000 meteorites in the world’s collections, two-thirds of these will never be available to the general public," explains UCLA cosmochemist Dr. Alan Rubin. With a limited number of new finds, collectors are competing for a very finite resource. One practice that helps alleviate that scarcity is the cutting of meteorites. While it may sound unorthodox, the fragmenting of these pieces is an accepted practice. “As long as there is enough material to go around, I don’t have a problem with it,” says the director of the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico, Carl Agee. He believes that the private market for these pieces encourages others to try and find meteorites themselves. Then, each new discovery…