Apart from carbonaceous specimens, there are only 17 ungrouped chondrites — chondrites so unusual they are unclassifiable and originate from a previously unknown parent body. For purposes of comparison, there are currently 199 ungrouped achondrites. NWA 5717 is also the only meteorite within this select group that is a member of an even more select group: it is a 3.05 subtype and is among the most primitive planetary matter known  (see lot 13).  At the time of NWA 5717’s discovery, only six pounds of similarly primitive planetary material was known to exist. Devoutly sought-after by scientists, scant amounts of this material are available to the collecting community. Check out the 2010 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference abstract entitled “The Extra-Ordinary Chondrite: NWA 5717.”  With two edges of the meteorite’s exterior surface and a galaxy of inclusions, this is a select example.

96 x 113 x 2mm (3.75 x 4.5 x 0.1 in.) and 92.3 grams (0.2 lbs)

Provenance: Macovich Collection of Meteorites, NYC

Estimate: $3,500 – 5000 * Reserve: $3000