Bidder pays £3200 for fragment of Strathmore Meteorite
A four-billion-year-old meteorite proved to be the star turn at a specialist auction.
- By Sandra Gray
- Published in the Courier : 18.08.11
- Published online : 18.08.11 @ 10.39am
Almost 100 years after the Strathmore Meteorite plummeted to earth, a tiny piece of it has sold for £3200.
The fragment comes from one of four that rained down on Scotland on December 3 1917, striking areas of Perthshire and Angus.
A family at Keithick Lodge were at home when one of the fragments came through their cottage roof.
Three miles away at Carsie Farm, a farmer's wife had a lucky escape when another chunk of the meteorite landed about 20 yards from where she was standing.
On Wednesday, a tiny shard of the stone resulted in good fortune for meteorite dealer Rob Elliott from Milton of Balgonie in Fife. Despite its size the piece attracted a lot of attention from buyers at Lyon and Turnbull in Edinburgh.
The fragment represents a small part of Mr Elliott's extensive collection, which is expected to fetch around £60,000 at auction.
- For more on this story, including a contemporary account of the meteor fall, click here.
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