The largest meteorite auction ever-including more than 50 lots from the worlds foremost museums-to be offered on Sunday, February 10th in Tucson by Macovich Collection

The largest meteorite auction ever-including more than 50 lots from the worlds foremost museums-to be offered on Sunday, February 10th in Tucson by Macovich Collection

TUCSON, AZ-(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)-January 30, 2002-A spectacular array of meteorites is featured at the Macovich Meteorite Auction on Sunday, February 10th during the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. A catalog with images and absentee bidding information can be viewed at http://www.macovich.com.

More than half the offerings originate from the world's most eminent natural history museums, including specimens from the collections of the American Museum of Natural History, The Academy of Sciences in Beijing and Moscow, the Smithsonian, Chicago's Field Museum, The Natural History Museum (formerly the British Museum of Natural History), and more.

Meteorites, fragments of natural material from outer space that impact Earth, are rare. All known meteorites weigh less than the worlds annual output of gold-and what little material that does exist has become one of the hottest collectibles.

The collection offered here is not only the largest such offering, but is also the rarest and most exotic collection of meteorites ever made available in one sale-including three different specimens of the Moon and four different specimens of the planet Mars.

Claudia Florian, formerly of Phillips & Sothebys, will be the auctioneer. Darryl Pitt, meteorite consultant for Phillips & Butterfields, is the curator and organizer of this offering, which includes:

ß A slice of the Sienna meteorite from The Natural History Museum (London). It was the Sienna meteorite shower (1794) which finally convinced scientists that meteorites exist;
ß Offered only once in a blue moon, a specimen of the Willamette meteorite, the main mass of which is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City;
ß A specimen of Chassigny, an exotic piece of Mars that is estimated to sell at 2000 times the price of gold;
ß A partial slice of the lunar meteorite NWA 482, the only lunar meteorite available to the public that is white (the others are shades of grey or charcoal);

Also included in this offering is a highly aesthetic iron meteorite recovered in Africa with a naturally formed hole that resembles the work of Henry Moore, several select meteorites that contain stardust older than our solar system, and a piece of the only meteorite documented to have killed an animal. One third of the lots in this extraordinary offering have no reserve.

Macovich Meteorite Auction at InnSuites / 475 N. Granada / Tucson, AZ

Preview:
Friday, February 1st - Saturday, February 9th 9:30am -- 5:00pm
Sunday, February 10th - 9.00am. -- 10.30am.

Auction:       
Sunday, February 10th - 10:30am

Contact:
Serena Babcock / Depth of Field PR / (212) 302-9200
High-res images are available

Darryl Pitt / on site in Tucson / (917) 861-6167

The Macovich Meteorite Auction
http://www.macovich.com