Complete Slice of Leedey

Formerly in the collection of Oscar Monnig (1902-1999).

FAMOUSLY RECOVERED BY BOTH HARVEY NININGER AND OSCAR MONNIG

Alongside Willamette, Canyon Diablo, Brenham and a handful of other meteorites, Leedey is among the most storied American meteorites. On the evening of November 25, 1943, numerous people witnessed a large fireball streaking across the skies of northern Texas and Western Oklahoma. The next day, the United Press released a report of the fireball which was read by the two most important meteorite hunters of the 20th century: Harvey Nininger and Oscar Monnig.

Locals began collecting stones from the site almost immediately, having either read the news reports, witnessed the fireball themselves, or heard the detonations that accompanied the fall. However, and without coordinating beforehand, neither Nininger nor Monnig showed up to the fall site until December 9, 1943. Spotting each other on the road leading into town, they agreed to cooperate by mapping the strewn field of the meteorite fall together and evenly sharing whatever material they found.

At the end of their search, Nininger and Monnig had mapped a well-defined strewn field 18 kilometers in length. During their expedition, they also uncovered the 20.4 kilogram main mass of the meteorite, which they cut evenly down the middle, seeing that as the best way to honor their agreement to share their finds evenly. In the end, only 24 stones were recovered from the site, totaling about 51.5 kilograms.

Completely surrounded by fusion crust, the complete slice offered here has impeccable provenance, as it was cut from Oscar Monnig's portion of the main mass, a stone which now resides in the Monnig Meteorite Gallery at Texas Christian University.

As a complete slice from a witnessed fall, representing the most famous collaboration between the two most celebrated meteorite hunters of the 20^th century, and from a meteorite now in one of the most important meteorite repositories in the world, this large and attractive slice of Leedey offers a rare opportunity to own a significant piece of American meteorite history.

REFERENCES:

Meteoritical Bulletin Entry for Leedey