Native Iron (Type Locality) - very rare terrestrial element (Rukin Jelks Coll.)

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 less than a dozen such pieces in 20 years. Ex Rukin Jelks Collection. Specimens like this usually, when they rarely turn up, sell for $500-1000.