21. VALERA END PIECE – THE ONLY METEORITE DOCUMENTED TO HAVE ENDED A LIFE
L5
Trujillo, Venezuela (9°19' N, 70°37' W)
Fell October 15, 1972 / TKW: 50 kg
Meteorites have directly struck homes, offices, a few cars, a couple of boats and a doghouse. To date, there is no incontrovertible evidence of a “meteocide”. There have been close calls, perhaps most famously when Ann Hodges was struck by a meteorite which first ricocheted in her home after punching through the roof. There is only one meteorite documented to have ended an animal’s life, and it was a cow in Venezuela.
On October 15, 1972 farmhands in Trujillo, Venezuela were startled by an inexplicable sonic boom. The next day an exotic rock was found alongside a cow’s carcass whose neck and clavicle had been pulverized. It was clear to the farm’s owner, physician Argimiro Gonzalez, what had occurred, but he didn’t give it a second thought since such mayhem from meteorites seemed intuitive. An unplanned steak dinner was enjoyed that night and the celestial boulder was used as a doorstop. More than a decade later scientists confirmed what Dr. Gonzalez had long presumed. However, what Dr. Gonzalez did not know was that this was the first documented fatal meteorite impact. When Dr. Ignacio Ferrin, an astronomer at the University of the Andes, learned of the Valera event, he visited the Gonzalez estate and left with an affidavit attesting to the aforementioned events as well as the meteorite itself. Destined to be among the most sought-after meteorites of all time, now offered is a modest endpiece with fusion crust.
32 x 37 x 7mm (1.25 x 1.5 x 0.25 inches) and 18.1 grams.
Provenance:
Dr. Argimiro Gonzalez, Trujillo, Venezuela
Dr. Ignacio Ferrin, Merida, Venezuela
Accompanied by a copy of the signed affidavit attesting to the circumstances of the Valera event.
Estimate $1,000 - 1,400 * Reserve $800