Meteorite collectors, scientists, and admirers of sculptural artifacts from outer space bid today for Historic Meteorites and Related Americana in the first sale exclusively dedicated to meteorites to be held by a major auction house. We opened our New York City salesroom on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007, for a 53-lot sale which featured important examples of intergalactic collectibles. The sale brought $750,000, with more than half the lots selling above their high estimates and a strong sell-through rate overall.

Meteorite expert Darryl Pitt sees the international interest in the sale as supportive of his assertion that the market is robust and rapidly growing, the most desirable objects seeing interest from private collectors and institutions alike. Claudia Florian, Natural History Specialist and organizer of the Bonhams sale, stated that she was delighted with the buoyant results — which indicate the overall strength of the market. “The results were stronger than anticipated with a near-perfect result. We hope to conclude sales on the handful of unsold lots in the next several days.”

Posted: 10|29|07 at 10:56 am. Filed under: US News.