Nantan Meteorite Fragments in a embossed glass display container. There are 13 meteorite core specimens - TOTAL WEIGHT 6.2 grams

I am not a collector but my friend is and he provided the following detailed information so I could present this for auction as he is looking to downsize his collection. He is starting with the small specimens.

Nantan Meteorite composition is approximately 89% iron and 6.8% nickel and trace amounts of a variety of rare elements.

These have been cleaned professionally and preserved with a protective coating so the iron content will not rust but will remain stable. Photo is of the actual Nantan Meteorite specimens and was not altered. Meteorite core pieces are more difficult and expensive to obtain than other Nantans that are light weight and more fragile.

The Nantan Meteorite fall was recorded in Nantan County's archives in 1516. It is recorded as: Zhengde (the Chinese Emperor in the Ming Dynasty) 11th year, summertime in May. "

The first find was recorded in 1958 when the Chinese needed an abundance of steel for constructing "New China". The people were told to go out and find iron ore. At this time even cooking woks were being melted to produce steel. Finding the heavy rock rich with iron seemed a lucky find but unfortunately the "iron rocks" would not smelt. This puzzled the people causing them to send a report to the Chinese central government. Geologists arrived to inspect the rocks and determined them to be iron meteorites. The meteorite was distributed in a northwesterly direction over an area of 27 to 28 kilometers long and 8 kilometers wide.

Please ask any questions before purchasing.

Thank you for looking!