Michigan man makes shocking discovery about 30-year-old doorstop
A Grand Rapids, Mich., man discovered that a 22-pound rock he has been using as a doorstop for 30 years is worth more than $100,000.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought a farm in Edmore, Mich., in 1988. Upon purchasing it, he noticed a large rock holding the door open, according to Central Michigan University.
He asked the then homeowner about it and was told it was a meteorite found on the property in the 1930s. The then owner told the man it was part of the property, and he could keep it.
In January, the man decided to learn once and for all about the value of the doorstep.
He took the rock to Mona Sirbescu, a geology professor at Central Michigan University’s College of Science and Engineering. She examined it and determined the meteorite was 88 percent iron and 12 percent nickel.
“It’s the most valuable specimen I have ever held in my life, monetarily and scientifically,” she said.
Siberscu still wanted a second opinion and sent off a slice of the rock to the Smithsonian Institution.
“What typically happens with these at this point is that meteorites can either be sold and shown in a museum or sold to collectors and sellers looking to make a profit,” Sirbescu said.
The Smithsonian Institution is considering purchasing the meteorite, Central Michigan University said. A mineral museum in Maine is also looking into it.
The meteorite’s owner said that regardless of the buyer, he will donate 10 percent of the sale amount to the university.
The process has been an invaluable lesson for Sirbescu and her students.
“Just think, what I was holding is a piece of the early solar system that literally fell into our hands,” she said.
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