Prior to the arrival of Titusville, the one meteorite recovered in New Jersey fell in 1829 and weighed just 28 grams. It was assigned the name Deal, but as far as New Jersey and extraterrestrial encounters were concerned, it sure wasn’t much of one. And then on May 8, 2023 at 12:14 p.m. a 2.5 pound meteorite punctured the roof of a home in Hopewell Township — just 50 miles outside New York City.  

After crashing through the roof, the meteorite bounced off the hardwood bedroom floor, ricocheted back into the ceiling before falling back to the floor. Suzy Kop, whose father lived in the home, reported the stone was warm when she picked it up. 

News of the impact went viral and a media circus ensued. Informally known as “Hopewell”, Titusville became among the most widely reported American meteorite impacts of the modern era. With the assistance of Roberto Vargas, Darryl Pitt was able to acquire the meteorite. Roberto also acquired a modest portion some of which is now on display at the Sterling Hill Mining Museum. Now offered is a superlative partial slice of a meteorite that will not grace many collections. Except for the specimen’s cut bottom edge, 80% of the rim is covered in fusion crust. The brecciated matrix is accented with veins of impact melt and abundant flakes of iron-nickel suspended throughout. There is barely a kilo of meteorites hailing from New Jersey and now offered is what is an exceedingly rare opportunity to acquire a specimen from one of the most widely reported meteorite falls of the 21st Century.

69 x 77 x 3mm (2.75 x 3 x 0.1in.) and 46 grams.

Provenance: Macovich Collection of Meteorites, NYC

Estimate: $9,000 – 14,000  *  Reserve: $8,500