Meteorites are exceedingly rare and can be worth significant sums of money. Famous auction house Christie’s is currently auctioning off dozens of ancient meteorites with some made from stone, some iron, and some packed with extraterrestrial gems. The auction where meteorites will be sold is called “Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites.”
The auction will be held online until February 23. Some of the bids start at only a few hundred dollars but could certainly go higher. Some have starting prices much higher than a few hundred dollars. One such item is a slab of lunar meteorite discovered in the Sahara desert measuring about 16 inches long and weighing about four pounds.
The auction house estimates that meteorite could sell for as much as $350,000. The meteorites up for auction were examined by scientists from The Meteoritical Society, an international nonprofit focusing on research and planetary science, particularly on studying meteorites.
More than 99 percent of all meteorites that end up on Earth are remnants from asteroids in our solar system. The remaining meteorites come from Mars or the moon. Factors that impact the value of meteorites include size, shape, story, and science. The larger the meteorite, the more valuable it is considered.
Meteorites that are in interesting shapes can also sell for significant amounts of money. Where a meteorite was discovered can impact its value as well as its origins. Meteorites are rare in general as objects rarely survive the descent through Earth’s atmosphere. The auction ends on February 23 at 10 AM Eastern time. It’s worth noting that some of the meteorites in the auction appear to have been formed into other shapes to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
