Hoba
£813
The Robert Elliott Meteorite Collection
Auction: 18 August 2009 at 15:00 BST
Description
Polished end piece (shale)
Dimensions
168.7g, 5.8 x 4 x 2.6cm
Footnote
Hoba (Grootfontein, Namibia) IVB (iron) - found 1920
Most noted for being the largest complete meteorite known, the 5th edition Catalogue of Meteorites records:
"A mass measuring over 9x9x3.2 feet, of very ductile iron, was found on a farm 12 miles west of Grootfontein. The main mass remains at the place of fall. Weight estimated from measurements at 60 tonnes."
The Hoba mass still lies where it fell in prehistoric times and is now a Namibian national monument. This Hoba specimen is non-metallic shale - personally collected from the Hoba mass by Dr. L. J. Spencer, F.R.S., the British Museum's Keeper of Minerals, in 1929.
Provenance: Natural History Museum, London