SEYMCHAN METEORITE — END PIECE OF A LARGE METEORITE WITH INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SURFACES REVEALED
Pallasite - PAL
Magadan District, Siberia

Two large metallic masses were found in the 1960s in a streambed in a part of Siberia made infamous as the remote location of Stalin’s gulags. Identified as meteorites, they were named Seymchan for a nearby town. Unlike Imilac (see lots 247,248 and 249) and Marjalahti (see lot 252) and the vast majority of other pallasitic meteorites, the dispersion of olivine crystals in Seymchan is extremely heterogenous. Some specimens are olivine rich and some are olivine poor; some specimens have no olivine whatsoever. The next two lots amply reveal these different presentations; most Seymchan meteorites are non-asethetic lumps— ideal for subdivision like the examples seen here.

This exquisite display piece provides an impressive reveal on the internal and external structure of an iron meteorite to marvelous effect. While only a couple of olivine crystals dot the metallic matrix, the shallow pockmarks seen on the reverse surface indicate the presence of hundreds of crystals which melted-out during the meteorite’s descent to Earth. Seymchan possesses what is possibly the most resplendent coarse octahedral crystalline pattern known, which this specimen exhibits to great effect as an otherworldly scroll. Punctuated by inclusions of schreibersite and black iron-rich silicates, this elongated end piece is an intriguing study of the interior structure and exterior surface of an iron meteorite. With an impressive size and Macovich Collection provenance. 450 x 190 x 55mm (17.75 x 7.5 x 2.0 inches) and 13.5 kilograms (29.75 pounds).

Estimate: $14,000 -18,000