Auction house Sotheby’s will be hosting its annual Natural History sale in New York City on July 16, which features “…a carefully curated selection of dinosaur and non-dinosaur fossils, meteorites, and minerals alongside other natural wonders.” There is a ton of really incredible stuff going up for auction, and some of it has pretty reasonable estimates — you could nab a meteorite for less than two grand.
Out of the 122 lots, the main event is NWA 16788, a Martian meteorite that is the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth. Discovered in November 2023 by a meteorite hunter (how do I get that job?) in the Sahara Desert in Niger, it is 70% larger than the next-largest piece of Mars found on Earth, and it’s already extremely rare to find Martian meteorites — of the 77,000 “officially recognized” meteorites, just 400 are from Mars. All of those meteorites together have a combined weight of around 825 pounds, and NWA 16788 weighs just over 54 pounds, so it represents 6.5% of all currently known Martian material. And you can buy it!
A once-in-a-generation find
Well, you can buy it if you have a lot of money, that is. Sotheby’s has placed an estimate of $2 million to $4 million on NWA 16788, but who knows what it’ll actually go for. It’s not like there’s a lot of precedent to a sale like this. Regardless, it’ll be around the cost of a new Bugatti at the very least, and it seems like bidding will open at $1.9 million. And don’t worry, it’s real, having been validated and published in the 113th edition of the Meteoritical Bulletin science journal this year.
NWA 16788 is covered in a fusion crust that gives it that Martian reddish-brown coloring, and visible depressions in its surface called regmaglypts were caused by frictional heating during the meteorites descent through the atmosphere. Sotheby’s says it likely fell from outer space fairly recently, as there’s minimal terrestrial weathering, which means its chemical and physical makeup hasn’t been significantly altered since it first landed in the desert.
Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman of science and natural history for Sotheby’s, describes NWA 16788 as being a “once-in-a-generation find [that] provides a tangible connection to the red planet— our celestial neighbor that has long captured the human imagination.”
Okay, but what is it?
I’m sure you’re wondering what this thing actually is, and I will let Sotheby’s explain:
NWA 16788 is an olivine-microgabbroic shergottite, formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma and characterized by a course-grained texture composed primarily of pyroxene, maskelynite, and olivine. Only 5.4% of Martian meteorites are currently classified as either gabbroic or microgabbroic, making this a rare type of rock within the already extremely rare category of Martian meteorites. Because NWA 16788 also shares characteristics of poikilitic meteorites – that is, meteorites in which the crystals of one mineral are enclosed by the crystals of another mineral – current and future studies of this meteorite may lead to the revision of the Martian meteorite classification system, possibly bringing it into increased alignment with our more developed terrestrial rock classification system.
A significant percentage (21.2% by volume) of NWA 16788 is composed of a glass known as maskelynite, produced when an asteroid struck the Martian surface with such force that it metamorphosed the rock’s original feldspar through intense heat and pressure, also propelling this piece of Mars off the surface of the planet. Given the severity of impact necessary to eject any material off the Martian surface and into space, researchers believe there are only approximately 19 craters large enough to be the potential origination points for Martian meteorites.
Coming from Mars’ volcanic regions, Shergottites are the most common type of Martian meteorite, named after the Shergotty meteorite that fell in India in 1865
Roar
Actually, I said the meteorite is the centerpiece of the auction but really it comes second place to lot 11, a nearly complete juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeleton with the highest estimate of the sale at $4 million to $6 million. Measuring in at 6-foot-3-inches tall and nearly 11 feet long, this “exhibition-ready” mounted skeleton consists of 139 original fossil bones and “additional sculpted materials.” Its skull is “virtually complete” with 57 different fossil bone elements, and not only does it have 43 teeth in its jaws, there are 5 loose rooted teeth as well. It dates back to the Kimmeridgian Stage of the Late Jurassic era, about 154 to 149 million years ago. Ceratosaurus’ distinctive nasal horns, present on this skeleton, make it one of the most popular and represented dinosaurs in culture.
Sotheby’s says the Ceratosaurus’ bones are fully mineralized, giving it that dark color, and that its fossilization is “superb” with even the most delicate bones being well-preserved. It says the skeleton has been accurately articulated anatomically, and it’s mounted on a custom metal armature that has the dino in an action pose with jaws open. The skeleton was first excavated on privately owned land in Wyoming in 1996 and then acquired by the Museum of Ancient Life in Thanksgiving Point, Utah, where it was displayed unrestored and unmounted. It remained at the museum until 2024 before being acquired, finished, and mounted by the company Fossilogic. In addition to the skeleton itself, the auction winner will have full rights to the skeleton, including all authenticity and legality of ownership documents plus detailed 3D scans and x-rays.
Lunar spheres, fossilized teeth and so much more
If neither of those things tickle your fancy, there’s a lot more in this sale to get excited about. There’s a mounted 21-inch-long Pachycephalosaurus skull that could go for over a million bucks, and the articulated foot of a T-rex that’s bigger than my torso. Other fossils include T-rex and Megalodon teeth, a Triceratops brow horn, lots of preserved fish and plants, really cool Ammonites, a mass grave of Trilobites, and a “monumental” sea lily colony you’d need at least 11-foot ceilings to hang on the wall. Also in the sale is the largest known lunar sphere that could go for $500,000, all sorts of other meteorites, a necklace made from lunar meteorites, tons of breathtaking rocks and minerals, and beautiful, sculptural sandstone formations. Oh, and there’s a large cave bear skeleton, an ancient bone idol from the Bronze Age, a neolithic stone axe, tools made by Neanderthals, and a fragment of the Allende meteorite, said to be “the oldest matter that can be seen and touched.”
Screw fancy car auctions, this is the kind of stuff I want to write about from now on. You’ve really got to look through the whole catalog. The auction kicks off at 10:00 a.m. eastern on July 16.
