Specimen weight: 39.20 grams with British Museum label. BMNH#1959-756/Nininger#197V

This stone has serious provenance, it is not only a Nininger stone #197V, it is also from the Natural History Museum of London, specimen #1959-756. It was exchanged out of the British collection and now has finally came to rest in my collection. This exact specimen can be found listed both in the "Nininger Collection of Meteorites" and "Catalog of Meteorites" books.

The Pasamonte meteorite fell on March 24, 1933 at ~0500 am in Union County, New Mexico. Pasamonte was the first meteorite fall (fireball) to be photographed. A massive fireball and explosion lit up the pre-dawn sky over New Mexico, and a shower of 75 small stones fell over a 28 mile long track. Pasamonte is classified as a eucrite, and is very fragile. The mass on entry into the Earth's atmosphere was estimated to be many tons, yet only 3-4 kilograms of small stones survived the entry.

Pasamonte is one of the most difficult meteorite falls to acquire. Most pieces are safely locked in museum collections all over the world. I have been trying for 8 years to get hold of a complete stone, and finally, in December 2005, I got this one!