Two series of basic iron(III) carboxylates [Fe 3 O(O 2 CR) 6 (H 2 O) 3 ]A were prepared, with R = CCl 3 , CHBr 2 , CH 2 F, CH 2 Cl, C(OH)Ph 2 , H, Ph, (CH 2 ) 3 Cl, Me, CHMe 2 , Et, CMe 3 . For the former series (1-12) A − = ClO − 4 and for the latter (13-24) A − = NO − 3 . Complexes with R = CF 3 were inaccessible for either counteranion, with all synthetic attempts leading to the butterfly complex [ structures of 1, 2, 5, 7, 9-12, 14, 16, 21 and 23 revealed the close structural similarity of the complexes. Mössbauer studies revealed very similar isomer shifts for all complexes in the region of 0.51-0.54 mm s −1 , and variable quadrupole splittings, ranging from 0.36 to 0.76 mm s −1 . Mössbauer studies of the complexes were carried out in frozen MeCN solutions in order to assess their stability in solution. All complexes proved to be stable in MeCN solutions, except complex 13 (R = CCl 3 , A − = NO − 3 ), which dissociated to a butterfly-type complex.