Iron, IVA
Namaland, Namibia (25° 30'S, 18° 0'E)
Dimensions (height x length x width): 4 x 4 ¾ x 2 ¾ in. (10.16 x 12.06 x 6.98 cm)
Total weight: 4.3 lbs. (2.0 kg)
Provenance: Geoffrey Notkin / Aerolite Meteorites Inc.

Once easily available on the collectors’ market, this essential iron meteorite has all but disappeared, and good examples such as this lot command a very high price. Discovered in 1836, Gibeon is a medium octahedrite that displays a complex and delicate Widmanstätten pattern when cut and etched in the lab. This, combined with its exceptional stability and resistance to rusting, has made it popular with jewelers who have fashioned the material into rings, watch faces, and even guitar picks –an odd fate for a grand meteorite that journeyed across the solar system and then lay in the deserts of Namibia for thousands of years. Most Gibeons are angular and shard-like in appearance, likely the result of in-flight explosions and/or terrestrial weathering. In rare cases, complete individuals are recovered and this exceptional lot is one such example. This fine iron meteorite shows an attractive natural desert patina and abundant small regmaglypts (thumbprints) on its surface –a clear indication of ablation during its flight through Earth’s atmosphere. This specimen measures 4 x 4 ¾ x 2 ¾ in. (height x width x depth) and has a total weight of 4.3 pounds.