DALLAS, TX.- Any time an elite collection is brought to market, the contents often dictate the value and interest … which can increase depending on who assembled the collection. The more notable the consignor, the greater in the interest the collection.
Such is the case with the collection of Geoff Notkin, known best as one of the hosts of Meteorite Men, a documentary reality television series that ran on the Science Channel. On the show, which often featured scientists and professors as guests, Notkin and co-host Steve Arnold roamed the globe, looking for meteorites.
Notkin’s fascination with meteorites, however, extended far beyond the three seasons (2009-12) in which the show aired. His was a fascination that lasted a lifetime.
“My fascination with meteorites started when I was six years old,” Notkin says. “In a museum exhibit I stared at meteorites that had somehow come to us from out there, from the far-off coldness of space, a place that only telescopes could see. They were the height of scientific and natural wonder. Meteorites are astronomy – or more accurately, the geology of other worlds – made manifest on Earth.”
Now the private collection of one of the most celebrated meteorites collectors anywhere will be made available to the public June 22 in
Heritage Auctions’ Meteorites from the Geoff Notkin Collection Nature & Science Signature® Auction.
“This collection is an enormously important assemblage, one of the finest in the world and one that top collectors have been waiting years to see,” Heritage Auctions Nature & Science Director Craig Kissick said. “Geoff Notkin is not just a TV personality who happened to talk about meteorites. He has spent his life studying meteorites, traveling all over the world to assemble a collection worthy of display in any museum.
“His passion and love for meteorites is clear when looking at the scope and breadth of this assortment, especially when realizing so many specimens in the collection are among the best known examples of the type for their size.”
Most of the 136 lots in the auction are, as expected, meteorites from locations around the globe. Among the most impressive is a massive Admire Meteorite (estimate: $250,000+). From arguably the most well-documented meteorite recovery of all time, in Kansas, this behemoth measures nearly 21 inches in length and tips the scales at more than 100 kilograms (231.5 pounds), so heavy that when Notkin and Arnold found the piece during the second season of the show, they only pulled it out of the ground after strapping it to a motorcycle on which Notkin was riding. Expertly cleaned and stabilized, this specimen could be the largest pallasite for sale anywhere in the world. It is packed with about 50 percent extraterrestrial gemstones due to the content of gemmy olivine, peridot, in the composition of the enormous meteoric boulder. This magnificent specimen is the biggest surviving intact find from Meteorite Men – all of the others were cut up and sold. It is a meteorite “celebrity” that has been featured in many publications, exhibited at the renowned Tucson Gem & Mineral Show and highlighted in a spread in Notkin’s book How to Find Treasure from Space, a copy of which accompanies this lot.
The Canyon Diablo Meteorite “The Alien Face” (estimate: $50,000+) garners its memorable moniker from the two spherical “eye holes” where soft inclusions – likely graphite – were boiled out during flight or weathered away once it hit the ground, giving it the appearance of an extraterrestrial “alien” face. This extraordinary specimen from the world’s most famous impact site in Arizona even includes small, pointy “feet” that allow the piece to stand up easily without a base, creating a magnificent perspective from any angle. The majority of all Canyon Diablo specimens are shrapnel, shard-like fragments that were ripped apart by the explosive forces of the impact and crater formation, making this beauty all the more impressive. This extraordinary specimen measures nearly 9 inches in length, and weighs about 51 pounds.
One of Notkin’s favorite lots in the collection is the Sikhote-Alin Meteorite “The Flying Wing” (estimate: $40,000+), a magnificent specimen he treasured so much that it appeared for years in his official promotional photo from 2009 – an original print of which accompanies this lot. This museum-quality specimen is in the top echelon of all such material ever recovered. Offering deep, well-formed overlapping regmaglypts and abundant flow lines, the example Notkin nicknamed “The Flying Wing” measures over 10-1/2 inches and weighs 8,141 grams (17.9 pounds).
Another top-tier specimen from the same meteorite, the Sikhote-Alin Meteorite (estimate: $25,000+) is a gorgeous example of a meteorite with a hole through it – a feature coveted by collectors. Meteorites with holes are exceptionally rare, with a frequency of somewhere around one in 1,000. Notkin chose this incomparable Sikhote-Alin as the primary image in his limited edition “Space Sculptures” art card. The famous postcard, which accompanies the lot, is noted in red ink as the Artist’s Proof and designated as number “1A” by Notkin, who signed this piece highlighting its rarity as effectively the FIRST of the limited edition of 1,000 cards. The meteorite measures more than 4-1/4 inches and weighs 1,317.6 grams.
The collection includes several specimens that have been cut and polished, offering a clear view of the formations that make up the interior of the meteorite. Among the top selections is a Sericho Meteorite Slice (estimate: $30,000+) that was found in 2016 in Kenya and formally recognized a year later, although legend has it that masses had been known for generations. It was initially called Habaswein for a nearby town, but later was renamed Sericho after the city in Kenya. Measuring more than 14 by 12 inches and weighing 3,680.1 grams (8.1 pounds), this magnificent specimen is characterized by particularly high crystal density, with estimates putting it at 70 to 80 percent, compared to most others at 50 percent. This enormous full slice was cut out of the center of a huge mass, likely making it one of the biggest pallasite slices available on the market today.
Other sliced meteorites or end cuts (which reveal the interior formations as well as the rough natural exterior formation) in the auction include, but are not limited to:
A Brenham Meteorite End Cut “The Green Brenham” (estimate: $25,000+)
An NWA 13227 Martian Meteorite Slice (estimate: $20,000+)
A Vaca Muerta Meteorite End Cut (estimate: $15,000+)
Notkin’s collection is not limited to just meteorites. Also included are some of the trappings of the process of locating these magnificent specimens, including:
An Original Meteor Crater Exploration & Mining Company Stock Certificate (estimate: $5,000+), which represents two shares of Preferred Stock of the Meteor Crater Exploration & Mining Company issued to a Henry W. Watson on 15 November 1928
A rare hardbound First Edition of Brian Mason’s Meteorites (estimate: $2,000+), an important Apollo Mission artifact as Dr. Elbert King used the volume to TEACH Apollo Astronauts Roger Chaffee and Neil Armstrong about meteorites, in preparation for their Apollo missions – Armstrong wrote a note that is taped to the inside front cover
Notkin's Signature Fisher F-75 Metal Detector (estimate: $2,000+)
The man whose pursuit of meteorites has taken him to more than 60 countries, on six continents, admits that parting with some of the lots he spent a lifetime collecting is difficult … but the right thing to do.
“I have been collecting for 28 years, and it has brought me immense enjoyment,” Notkin says. “I don’t feel like I would be doing any justice by keeping these magnificent specimens in a vault or a display cabinet.
“It’s almost like I’m not a collector, anyway. I feel like I have been a curator. We’re caretakers of these incredible pieces of history. They were here before us, and they’ll be here long after we’re gone. I don’t want this collection to go to the basement of a museum somewhere. I want to make sure these pieces end up with people who can study and appreciate and enjoy them as much as I have.”
