Native Iron (Type Locality) - very rare terrestrial element

Item Description

Native iron is extremely rare in igneous rocks, even though it forms the majority of the earth's core. This old-time specimen is from the Type Locality, remote Disko Island, Greenland, and is a solid nodule of rust-brown native iron. The native iron formed as nodules in basalt. These specimens date to the late 1800s. This is old, rare, and seldom seen. Most native iron is extra-terrestrial. This one, however, is from some of the oldest crustal elements humans will ever access, and is a rare find to make it into the hands of specimen collections. I have handled only a half dozen such pieces in 20 years. The base has been sawed to enhance the display quality and to check its solidity and purity, as is typical. The David New label probably dates from the late 1960s or 1970s.. Specimens like this usually, when they rarely turn up, sell for $500-1000