She Unknowingly Found One Of The World’s Largest Intact Chunks Of Amber Worth $1.1 Million In A Stream And Used It As A Doorstopper For Decades
Many years ago, an elderly woman in southeast Romania found a stone in the bed of a stream. She took the rock home and used it as a doorstopper for decades. But it turned out that the 7.7-pound rock was one of the world’s largest intact chunks of amber and was worth $1.1 million.
Amber is a fossilized tree resin from millions of years ago. The resin hardens over time and eventually becomes amber, a yellowish or deep orange substance that is widely recognized as a gemstone. The history of amber can be traced back to the Stone Age when it was used for jewelry and ornaments.
In Romania, pieces of amber can be found around the village of Colti, specifically in sandstone from the banks of the River Buzau. The amber is known as rumanite, and it has been mined there since the 1920s. It is popular for its dark, reddish hues.
The woman who found the valuable rumanite nugget lived in Colti. At one point, her home was targeted by jewel thieves, but since the amber was being used as a doorstopper, they overlooked the treasure altogether.
When the woman died in 1991, a family member inherited her home. He suspected that the doorstopper was more than just a simple stone. After learning what it really was, he sold the amber to the Romanian state.
It was then examined by experts from the Museum of History in Krakow, Poland. According to the experts, the amber appears to be between 38 and 70 million years old.
“Its discovery represents a great significance both at a scientific level and at a museum level,” said Daniel Costache, the director of the Provincial Museum of Buzau.
The nugget is now considered a national treasure of Romania and has been housed in the Provincial Museum of Buzau since 2022.
The discovery is similar to that of a man in Michigan. For 30 years, he had been using a large rock to prop open a door until he realized that it was a meteorite worth $100,000.
Stramyk Igor – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
In 2018, the man brought the 22-pound rock to Mona Sirbescu, a geology professor at Central Michigan University.
Her analysis determined that it was a meteorite. It was made of 88.5 percent iron and 11.5 percent nickel. It was also the sixth-largest recorded find in Michigan.
The man obtained the rock in 1988 when he bought a farm in Edmore, located about 30 miles southwest of Mount Pleasant.
He spotted the rock while touring the property and asked the farmer what it was. The farmer told him it was a meteorite and that it was part of the property.
He also said the meteorite had landed in the 1930s. The morning after, the farmer and his father found the crater and dug up the meteorite.
The new owner of the meteorite kept the space rock for decades and was inspired to figure out how much it was worth after hearing stories about Michigan residents finding and selling pieces of meteorite.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:News
Read This Next
