Wold Cottage — among the world’s most historic meteorites — played a critical role in the scientific community’s acceptance that rocks can fall from the sky. While the Wold Cottage meteorite landed mere yards from farm worker John Shipley, this was insufficient in convincing anyone it fell from the sky — except, fortuitously for meteoritics, Shipley’s boss and owner of the Wold Cottage estate, one Edward Topham.  Topham was a well-known playwright, scandal sheet publisher and raconteur in late 18th Century England.  He was also known as an honest man, which was vital in swaying public opinion to accept the lowly workman’s claim. Topham was certain the stone was of great import; it looked “different” and he arranged to have it exhibited in London. The scientific community took note, especially after the chemical composition compared favorably to rocks which were alleged to have fallen out of the sky in Italy one year earlier — the soon to be celebrated Siena meteorite shower. The fact these that these stones from different locales had important common characteristics convinced many scientists of their extraterrestrial origins. (Thank goodness these were both common chondrites.) It was imagined these rocks came from the Moon whose volcanic eruptions propelled them to Earth. (Centuries later it was determined the Moon’s most recent volcanic eruptions occurred 120 million years ago.)  The partial slice offered here is most certainly not lunar; it does, however, have a vein of impact melt arcing across its creamy matrix, metal flake scattered throughout and a Natural History Museum (formerly British Museum of Natural History) provenance. Now rarely available, this is an extremely notable offering and a prestigious addition to any meteorite collection.

45 x 43 x 2mm (1.75 x 1.66 x 0.1 in.) and 7.12 grams (35 carats)

Provenance: Natural History Museum (London)

Estimate: $3,000 – 4,000 * No Reserve