The specimen extracted from the Willamette
meteorite. Bonhams
If you ask any visitor who has ever wandered the halls of New York's American Museum of Natural History what his or her favorite piece is, you'll get a variety of answers. Some have fond memories of the 94-foot-long blue whale model, suspended from the ceiling. Others will celebrate the dioramas showcasing Earth-bound creatures. Overall, I'd wager most visitors, especially those with cosmic tastes, hold great reverence for the Willamette meteorite.
If you've never toured the museum, the space rock has had a volatile history — after its landing on Earth. Many scientists theorize the meteorite landed in Canada, only to end up in Oregon's Willamette Valley courtesy of a piggy-back ride on a glacier. Although Native Americans knew of the space rock, local Ellis Hughes "discovered" the meteorite on land owned by Oregon Iron and Steel. He moved the nearly 15.5 ton rock to his property, less than a mile away. Uncovering the tracks of such a conspicuous move, Oregon Iron and Steel learned of the theft and took Hughes to court, claiming rights to the meteorite. After winning the case, the company sold the meteorite to Mrs. William Dodge II, who subsequently donated it to the New York museum.
Later, a confederation of Indian tribes from the valley laid claim to the meteorite. Eventually the sides reached an agreement — the meteorite will remain on display at the museum's Rose Center. Should the day ever come that space rock is not displayed, it will return to the tribes. Considering the meteorite's popularity and that the armature supporting it was countersunk in New York bedrock, it is safe bet the meteorite will be on display for generations to come.
If paying a visit to the museum won't satisfy your love of the Willamette, you now can own a piece of the largest meteorite ever found in North America.
On Sunday, October 28, international auctioneers Bonhams will auction the 30-pound detached crown of the meteorite. The museum exchanged the crown piece for a meteorite traced to Mars. Previously, only slivers of the crown piece have been sold — fetching more than, ounce for ounce, 8 times the price of gold.
Your last name better be Gates if you hope to purchase this chunk for your home collection. The estimated value of this section is $1.1 million to $1.3 million.
If that is too rich for your blood, select meteorites deaccessorized from the Field Museum in Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and the Macovich Collection in Tucson, Arizona, will also be among the 4 lots offered in this auction. This selection includes a fragment (valued at $3,000 to $4,000) of the only meteorite known to have killed an animal, a cow in Venezuela.
Darryl Pitt, the curator of the Macovich Collection, the world's largest collection of aesthetic iron meteorites, says, "This is the foremost offering of meteorites ever assembled and could well be the first and last of such sales — you just can't top this."