Augusta County (IIIAB) :: SV-meteorites

Country: USA
State/District: Virginia, Augusta Co.
Date of fall/find: Found 1858, (about)
Total known weight: 76 kg
Number of pieces: 2
Type: Iron, IIIAB

Meteoritical Bulletin record: Click here

Never published in the Meteoritical Bulletin

ID#: 4852 Description: Augusta County Partslice The story of this meteorite is rather weird. After it´s find in 1858 or 1859, the finder tried to sell it for one Dollar, but nobody wanted to buy it. He throw it away. Later it was used in building a fence. Then it was rediscovered in the 1870ies as a meteorite but wrongly distributed as Staunton meteorite in former times (Buchwald, Vol. 2, 277f). In fact it was found on the same land of the first Staunton find, although Augusta County is structurally significantly different (Brezina pointed this out 1896: 278, 363). Now the story of this slice is rather weird, too. First of all: The offered slice steems from a bigger part slice with a weight of 257.13 g. Before the 1980s the part slice was in the possession of a family in Prague (unclear, how they came in possession of it, with the partslice came an old label with the inscription “Meteorit Augusta Co 279 Gram. Na. (or Va?)”.). We date this old label end of the 19th century. In the 1980s both, partslice and label, was acquired by Dr. Peter Gottschling, a mineral dealer from Austria (see enclosed letter). It was sold to Prof. Heinz Winbeck in 1980. Dr. Gottschling sold it as “Staunton” iron although the label states Augusta Co. . Staunton is a city in Augusta County and we can only guess that Dr. Gottschling was not aware that not only Staunton iron was found in Augusta County but even a different one. In the 2015s fullslice and label was acquired by Marc Jost. Marc Jost has a slice of Staunton in his collection with good provenance and the Widmanstätten patterns on his slice. This slice lookes different. According to the optic evidence, the label´s inscription and Vagn F. Buchwald’s insight of the mix-up of Staunton and Augusta County irons a proof was necessary: Marc Jost brought the part slice to Prof. Dr. Beda A. Hofmann (NHM Bern, Switzerland) and they made a tests on it. All characteristics pointed it to be Augusta County, not Staunton. The part slice was finally cut in 4 pieces and now you got the chance to acquire a really rare iron. Copy of the old label, Dr. Gottschling´s letter and the analyses from NHM Bern, Switzerland, is included. Size: 5.5 x 4 x 0.4 cm Weight: 52.5 gr *US$ 5,000.00*

ID#: 4852
Description: Augusta County Partslice The story of this meteorite is rather weird. After it´s find in 1858 or 1859, the finder tried to sell it for one Dollar, but nobody wanted to buy it. He throw it away. Later it was used in building a fence. Then it was rediscovered in the 1870ies as a meteorite but wrongly distributed as Staunton meteorite in former times (Buchwald, Vol. 2, 277f). In fact it was found on the same land of the first Staunton find, although Augusta County is structurally significantly different (Brezina pointed this out 1896: 278, 363). Now the story of this slice is rather weird, too. First of all: The offered slice steems from a bigger part slice with a weight of 257.13 g. Before the 1980s the part slice was in the possession of a family in Prague (unclear, how they came in possession of it, with the partslice came an old label with the inscription “Meteorit Augusta Co 279 Gram. Na. (or Va?)”.). We date this old label end of the 19th century. In the 1980s both, partslice and label, was acquired by Dr. Peter Gottschling, a mineral dealer from Austria (see enclosed letter). It was sold to Prof. Heinz Winbeck in 1980. Dr. Gottschling sold it as “Staunton” iron although the label states Augusta Co. . Staunton is a city in Augusta County and we can only guess that Dr. Gottschling was not aware that not only Staunton iron was found in Augusta County but even a different one. In the 2015s fullslice and label was acquired by Marc Jost. Marc Jost has a slice of Staunton in his collection with good provenance and the Widmanstätten patterns on his slice. This slice lookes different. According to the optic evidence, the label´s inscription and Vagn F. Buchwald’s insight of the mix-up of Staunton and Augusta County irons a proof was necessary: Marc Jost brought the part slice to Prof. Dr. Beda A. Hofmann (NHM Bern, Switzerland) and they made a tests on it. All characteristics pointed it to be Augusta County, not Staunton. The part slice was finally cut in 4 pieces and now you got the chance to acquire a really rare iron. Copy of the old label, Dr. Gottschling´s letter and the analyses from NHM Bern, Switzerland, is included.
Size: 5.5 x 4 x 0.4 cm
Weight: 52.5 gr

US$ 5,000.00

1 more specimen of Augusta County

Augusta County

Class: IIIAB
Weight: 36.7 gr

US$ 3,600.00

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