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IRON METEORITES FOR SALE
Iron meteorites might be the most recognizable of all meteorites due to their density, unique surface thumbprinting, and geometric internal Widmanstätten patterns. These hefty space rocks originated as the metal cores of large asteroids that were obliterated by cosmic collisions in the distant past. Fragments of these shattered asteroids then traveled millions of miles through space before making a fiery descent to our planet’s surface!
Iron meteorites represent about 5 percent of all meteorites and as their name implies they are almost entirely composed of iron and nickel. When cut and acid etched, intriguing, criss-crossing patterns known as Widmanstätten patterns become visible. They are the result of the slow crystallization of nickel-iron alloys as their parent bodies' molten cores slowly cooled over millions of years. It is these patterns, as well as the unique thumbprint-like indentations on some meteorites' surfaces known as regmaglypts, which make iron meteorites so sought after.
Check out our large selection of iron meteorites for sale, each one a masterpiece crafted by the cosmos--a harmonious blend of rugged metal and sculpted texture. The authenticity of everything we sell is guaranteed. Feel free to contact us for assistance or additional information.
Iron meteorites represent about 5 percent of all meteorites and as their name implies they are almost entirely composed of iron and nickel. When cut and acid etched, intriguing, criss-crossing patterns known as Widmanstätten patterns become visible. They are the result of the slow crystallization of nickel-iron alloys as their parent bodies' molten cores slowly cooled over millions of years. It is these patterns, as well as the unique thumbprint-like indentations on some meteorites' surfaces known as regmaglypts, which make iron meteorites so sought after.
Check out our large selection of iron meteorites for sale, each one a masterpiece crafted by the cosmos--a harmonious blend of rugged metal and sculpted texture. The authenticity of everything we sell is guaranteed. Feel free to contact us for assistance or additional information.
176 Items
($12 to $1,125)
Popular Iron Meteorites
Canyon Diablo Meteorites - 50,000 years ago, a titanic meteorite raced through the cosmos at incomprehensible speed and met its destiny with Earth. The result was an explosive impact that carved out a 4,000-foot wide crater in Arizona. This otherworldly collision forever altered the landscape, leaving fragments scattered like cosmic breadcrumbs all over the desert.
While the original meteorite was estimated to have been about 63,000 tons, only about 30 tons of material have been recovered. We frequently have fragments or shrapnel of the Canyon Diablo meteorite for sale that have been collected from areas near the crater. Given the name recognition of this impact and the reasonable pricing given the quantity of material collected, this is the most popular iron meteorite that we sell. Most pieces we have range from a few grams to a few hundred grams and are typically priced around $2-3/gram.
Campo del Cielo Meteorites - The name refers to a group of meteorites discovered within an 18.5 by 3-kilometer area near the Campo del Cielo region in northeastern Argentina. These meteorites were part of an approximately 300-ton meteor that likely fell between 4000 to 5000 years ago. Approximately 100 tons of Campo del Cielo meteorite fragments have been recovered, the most of any meteorite find! As such, they are relatively affordable, often retailing at under $2/gram depending on the size of the fragment.
Each Campo del Cielo iron meteorite is a symphony of rugged metal etched with cosmic history. The unique Widmanstätten patterns that emerge upon etching reveal the meteorite's uniquely thick crystalline structure, created over eons of slow cooling within the heart of an asteroid. As you explore our collection, you'll encounter these mesmerizing patterns that tell stories of celestial origins.
Sikhote-Alin Iron Meteorites - On February 12, 1947, a symphony of fire and light painted the skies over the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in Russia's far east. Like celestial fireworks, dozens of meteors streaked across the heavens, culminating in an explosive climax that shook the ground below. These meteors, fragments of a larger cosmic body, hurtled through the atmosphere with astonishing velocity, creating a breathtaking display witnessed by fortunate onlookers.
Many fragments, together weighing up to 300 kilograms in weight, have been recovered. Prior to entering the atmosphere, it's believed the meteoroid had a mass of approximately 100,000kg. This meteorite is particularly popular among collectors given that it is one of the largest observed falls in recent history.
Saint-Aubin Iron Meteorites - The Saint-Aubin meteorite is an iron (IIIAB) meteorite that landed in Champagne, France roughly 55,000 years ago. Five pieces were found in 1968 by farmers as they plowed fields. More recent discoveries using advanced metal detection equipment have brought Saint Aubin's total collected mass to over 6 tons. It has a very attractive Widmanstätten pattern that makes it popular among meteorite collectors, particularly when cut and polished.
Muonionalusta Iron Meteorites - Muonionalusta is a very unique iron meteorite found in northern Scandanvia and believed to have impacted the planet about one million years ago. It is one of the oldest meteorites found on Earth, dated at 4.5653 billion years old! The Muonionalusta meteorite is quite clearly part of the iron core or mantle of a planetoid, which shattered into many pieces upon its fall to Earth. Pieces of this meteorite have been used in many luxury products such as jewelry and watches, and even in paint for limited-edition luxury cars!
Gebel Kamil Iron Meteorites - Gebel Kamil is a meteorite that struck Egypt about 5000 years ago, leaving a 48-meter-wide crater. Originally estimated to have weighed 5-10 tons, about 1,600 kilograms of fragments have been recovered in recent years. This meteorite is thought to hail from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. What sets the Gebel Kamil meteorite apart is its remarkable preservation: despite its age, its outer surface shows little sign of terrestrial weathering.
Aletai Iron Meteorites - The Aletai iron meteorite is found in a vast, 500-kilometer long strewn field in the Xinjiang region of western China. This large strewn field is the result of the meteor's very low entry angle in the atmosphere, breaking up as it skipped through the atmosphere like a stone on water. Nearly 100 tons of this meteorite have been recovered, including a 28-ton single section. Aletai has a beautiful Widmanstätten pattern when etched and is frequently used to create jewelry and other luxury items.
Gibeon Iron Meteorites - One of the world’s most famous meteorites, the Gibeon iron meteorite fell thousands of years ago in what is now Namibia. This meteorite is dispersed over a 240-mile-long strewn field, the largest meteorite strewn field in the world! About 26,000 kilograms of the Gibeon meteorite have been collected over the years. However, collecting or exporting this meteorite is now illegal, so material on the market is very limited.
Dronino Iron Meteorites - Dronino is a unique iron meteorite. Due to its high nickel content, it does not bear a Widmanstätten pattern when polished. It is a rare ungrouped iron which was discovered southeast of Moscow, Russia in 2000. About 600 fragments were recovered in an area suggesting a 30-meter wide impact crater, which was long since buried under sediment and vegetation.
About Iron Meteorites
Iron meteorites, as their name implies, are composed almost entirely of iron and nickel. They are most likely the remnants of metal cores of long-ago destroyed asteroids. While iron meteorites represent only about 5.7% of witnessed falls, they represent almost 90% of the mass of all collected meteorites. All of the largest known meteorites are of the iron variety. There are many reasons for this large discrepancy:
- Iron meteorites are much denser than other meteorites.
- Due to this density, they are more likely to survive entry into Earth’s atmosphere and can be found in larger fragments.
- Their density makes them more resistant to weathering, so they survive longer on Earth’s surface.
- They can be found using metal detection equipment, even when buried below the surface.
Iron meteorites are believed to be the cores of M-type (iron-nickel) asteroids, with the exception of IIE iron meteorites: they are thought to originate from the crust of the S-type (stony) asteroid 6 Hebe. Based on chemical analysis, most iron meteorites are fragmented from at least 50 different parent asteroids. This implies that these asteroids could be fragments of much larger parent bodies than are in the asteroid belt today.
Composition
Iron meteorites are almost entirely composed of iron-nickel alloys, though many also contain small amounts of the iron sulfide troilite. They usually contain approximately 70-95% iron, 5-30% nickel, 0.2-2% cobalt, and less than 0.05% each of titanium, chromium, and manganese. Many also contain trace amounts of precious metals such as gold, platinum, and silver, as well as iridium and gallium.
This high nickel concentration helps tell iron meteorites apart from terrestrial metals. The concentration of nickel in industrial iron is usually less than 1%, and even high-nickel iron alloys do not exceed a nickel content of 5%.
Widmanstätten Patterns and Neumann Lines
Iron meteorites contain unique lattice-like patterns called Widmanstätten patterns, which become visible when they are acid-etched. These patterns are created by the interlocking crystal structures of the nickel-iron alloys kamacite and taenite. Acid etching reveals these patterns since kamacite and taenite etch at different rates when exposed to acid.
An acid-etched slice of the Muonionalusta meteorite, showing a prominent widmanstätten pattern
These patterns were formed as the cores of their parent asteroids slowly cooled in the vacuum of space. This cooling process occurred over many millions of years, and the patterns are unique to every iron meteorite. The larger the parent asteroid, the slower its core cooled, and the wider the Widmanstätten pattern lines will be.
Widmanstätten patterns do occur in some metals forged on Earth, but because they were formed by much quicker cooling they are not visible to the naked eye and thus can easily be differentiated from ones of meteoric origin. Thus, Widmanstätten patterns can be used to differentiate iron meteorites from terrestrial metals.
Neumann lines are a similar pattern found in iron meteorites classified as hexahedrites. Unlike Widmanstätten patterns, which form in different directions, Neumann lines are parallel. They are caused by shock-induced deformations of kamacite crystals, and are likely caused by impact events on the surfaces of parent bodies.
Thumbprinting & Reentry Features
Iron meteorites can also be easily identified by certain features only acquired when entering the atmosphere. One such feature of many iron meteorites are small, rounded indentations on their surface called regmaglypts, also known as thumbprints. They are formed as the surface of the meteorite melts during its descent into Earth’s atmosphere. Freshly fallen meteorites may also have a dark, burned exterior known as a fusion crust. This fusion crust will erode away if a meteorite has been exposed to weathering mechanics for a while.
A Sikhote-Alin iron meteorite with regmaglypts (thumbprints)
Most meteorites tumble as they fly through our atmosphere, but occasionally they will stay in a fixed orientation during their flight. If they stay in a fixed orientation, the melting and ablation (atmospheric fragmentation) of their downward-facing surface forms a rounded front with a flat or slightly concave upward-facing surface (trailing edge), similar to a raindrop. These rare “oriented meteorites” are highly coveted by collectors.
Most meteors will fragment as they travel through our atmosphere, impacting the ground in numerous fragments over a wide area known as a strewn field. Often these fragments are further blown apart by the force of impact, resulting in meteorite shrapnel. This shrapnel typically has sharp, jagged edges without surface thumbprinting or fusion crusting.
Classification
Iron meteorites are classified two different ways: an older method based on structure, and a new system based on chemical composition.
Structural classification of iron meteorites is based on the width of lines in their Widmanstätten patterns. The widths of these lines will correspond to the relative abundance of nickel to iron in the parent body and how fast it cooled. This indicates which parent asteroid the meteorite came from.
The structural classes are:
- Hexahedrites (H): low nickel, no Widmanstätten patterns, may have Neumann lines.
- Octahedrites (O): average to high nickel, Widmanstätten patterns: most common class. They can be further divided up on the basis of the width of the kamacite lamellae from coarsest to finest.
- Coarsest (Ogg): lamellae width > 3.3 mm
- Coarse (Og): lamellae width 1.3–3.3 mm
- Medium (Om): lamellae width 0.5–1.3 mm
- Fine (Of): lamellae width 0.2–0.5 mm
- Finest (Off): lamellae width < 0.2 mm
- Plessitic (Opl): a transitional structure between octahedrites and ataxites
- Ataxites (D): very high nickel, no Widmanstätten pattern
The newer classification system separates iron meteorites into 13 groups, including a catch-all “ungrouped” bucket. The scheme is based on the proportions of the trace elements Gallium (GA), Germanium (GE) and Iridium (IR) and is meant to separate them by type of parent asteroid body. The IAB group is the most common.
Both structural and chemical classification methodologies are often used together when describing iron meteorites. For example, the Canyon Diablo meteorite is structurally a coarse octahedrite with a chemical classification of IAB.
Human Use
Prior to the advent of smelting, Iron meteorites were one of the earliest sources of usable iron to human civilizations. Meteoric iron was used to craft various tools, weapons and cultural objects. Some examples include beads and jewlery found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Iron meteorites were often used by the Sumerians, whose name from iron was an-bar, meaning “fire from heaven”. The ancient Nama people of what is now Namibia used iron from the Gibeon meteorite in the manufacture of tools and weapons.
Today, iron meteorites are not only very popular among collectors but used by contemporary artists to fashion unique jewelry and decorative items.
Modern day rings carved from etched iron meteorites.
What Are Iron Meteorites Worth?
Iron meteorites can be some of the more affordable meteorites due to the amount of material that has been collected. Some common types of iron meteorites might be found on the market for as little as $1/gram, but not all are so inexpensive.
Generally, a meteorite with less collected mass will be a lot more valuable than a meteorite from which tons of material have been collected. A meteorite’s value can also be affected by its historical significance and whether or not its fall was witnessed.
Characteristics of a particular stone may also increase its value substantially. For example, a whole stone with a fusion crust will cost a lot more than shrapnel from a stone that fragmented on impact. Aesthetic thumbprinting, fusion crusts, or flight-oriented shapes will also increase a particular meteorite’s value significantly. Absent special characteristics, cut and etched iron meteorites cost more per gram than whole stones simply due to the substantial labor cost involved.
Related Categories
Meteorites
Chondrites
Lunar Meteorites
Martian Meteorites
Mesosiderites
Other Achondrites
Pallasites
Tektites & Impactites
Vesta Meteorites (HED Meteorites)