When Dave Mazurek bought his barn in Edmore, Michigan in 1988, he found a meteorite piece in it that he started using as a doorstop. Well that doorstop is actually worth a cool $100,000.
After seeing reports of meteorite pieces selling for thousands of dollars, Mazurek took the meteorite to Central Michigan University where Geology Professor Mona Sirbescu determined that it was something more special than just a doorstop. “It is the most valuable specimen I have ever held in my life, monetarily and scientifically,” Sirbescu said. She sent two pieces of the meteorite to the Smithsonian Institution.
The farmer who sold the farm to Mazurek told him the piece landed in the backyard in the 1930s. The 23 pound meteorite is considered to be the sixth largest ever to be found in Michigan! The Smithsonian Institution and a mineral museum in Maine have both expressed interest in buying the meteorite. As for Mazurek, it will no longer be used as a doorstop. “Let’s get a buyer!” He said.