Whenever we stumble upon to graze the late-night sky, we sometimes found those small, tiny Star or Comet wheezing from the top of the universe to our very own earth surface within milliseconds. Sometimes folks wished behind them, or sometimes we just saw them falling, touching the dart in an unknown path. Did it ever occur to you what are they actually? They are not some easy rock or stone we saw every day in our life. They are the ultimate bearer of out-of-space materials that visited us after a million years of orbiting our own galaxy. To know them, to understand them and to make them as known to earth, the planetarians introduced them to us as “Meteorite”
So, basically what are these meteorites and why are they become so expensive? meteorites are actually a piece of a comet or asteroid from interplanetary space that falls into the earth surface and survive. This is what the researchers told all us about these Universal rocks. So, what made them so expensive? The origin of these space rocks, weigh, materials that made them, the extensive scientific research, and of course, the beauty or appeal of these extraordinary rocks make them so expensive that one only could wish to have them in this small lifetime!
Geologists and meteorite hunters around the world have been digging onto them for a very long time. There are whole several ranges of meteorites that exist on earth. But we don’t have time and need to know all of them. That’s why here we present only the top 10 of meteorites that actually will make you ask why are they so freaking expensive?!
The Gibeon Meteorite
The first of the list from the bottom is the most common meteorite ever found on earth- The Gibeon. This fine Iron octahedrite meteorite was first discovered in Great Namaqualand, Namibia, Africa. Before knowing what it was, the desert’s local inhabitants used it makes weapons or tools. And then English Army Captain explorer Sir James Alexander rediscovered it in 1836 and bought it to the limelight. Several meteor hunters and researchers found this meteorite resembles Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” painting.
NINE
The Main Mass Of Zagami Meteorite
Another meteorite on our list is an exceptional one space rock. This specific piece of meteorite is the largest Martian meteorite ever found in this earth, weighing approx. 18.1 kilogram! It was found by a farmer at Zagami Rock, Katsina Province, Nigeria, accidentally! That poor man was busy to scarecrow from his cornfield when the space rock landed 10 feet away from him with a sudden blast. Imagine, how terrified he was! But, lucky him. That space rock was the second only meteorite to contain a significant amount of trapped Martian atmosphere in it. And the bonus part- this legendary Martian rock is approx. 175 million years old! And that’s why this meteorite is whopping for a price of $ 327,000! Though it is less than the Gibeon, it is just a slice of whole Zagami rock that actually put on a sale.
EIGHT
Dar Al Gani 1058 Lunar Meteorite
The name has been given after the place where this space rock had been found. This particular moon rock is fairly a large meteorite with compact, fine gray stone with 1.8 kilograms weigh with visible whitish to pale gray color. This is the largest lunar meteorite ever found in this earth and the greatest piece to be ever auctioned! And the price? It is $ 340,000!
SEVEN
The Chelyabinsk Meteorite
This piece of meteorite is actually a small asteroid about the size of a six-story building that broke over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The blast was more vigorous than a nuclear explosion injuring more than 1200 people. Because of this backup story, The price of this particular meteorite has been up roared and reached up to $396,105!
SIX
The Zagami Martian Meteorite
It is literally another part of the Zagami meteorite that has surprisingly had scored a higher place than its similar counterpart. A large chunk of Zagami put on a sale in 2006, and before it even sold, planetarians all over the world begged future buyers to make it available on loan! That’s the power of Mars magic! So the magic made the worth of this space rock up to $ 451,512!
FIVE
The Springwater Meteorite
It is one kind of stony-iron pallasite found in springwater near Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1931. When sliced and polished, a grey rock covered in slightly rusty, brown patches to reveal interconnected translucent greenish olivine spots mottled through a grey iron-nickel alloy. This aesthetic meteorite hypnotizes people with its amazing olivine stone packed in a rusty iron rock that makes it alluring to mass. And the price of this unworldly beauty is up to $602,410!
FOUR
The Conception Junction Meteorite
This meteorite was probably once a part of the asteroid belt and one kind of rare and very beautiful piece of pallasite meteorite. It was discovered in 2006 by a farmer who found it buried it a hillside in the Missouri town of Conception Junction. Later two amateur meteorite hunter Karl Aston and Dave Gheesling introduced this pallasite to Randy Korotev at Washington University in St. Louise. They had no idea that rare pallasite would be worth up to $ 850,000! But the price is literally worth the beauty of this particular meteorite.
THREE
The Willamette Meteorite
This is a huge Iron meteorite that was found in Willamette, Oregon. This meteorite probably the largest meteorite ever found in United States and also the 6th largest meteorite in this whole world!
4.5 billion years ago, the meteorite made countless revolutions around the sun, and probably many thousand years ago, this meteorite, traveling 64,000 km per hour, crashed into the earth’s surface.
It has been donated to the American Museum of Natural history, though it had achieved cultural importance to the Clackamas tribe people. These tribal people of Willamette valley were the first one to discover this gigantic piece of space rock. They treasured it as their religious material and named it Tomanowos.
Due to this back history and also because of its making so highlight in breaking records, the estimated price of this meteorite is $1003,231. Can anyone dare to buy?!
TWO
The Main Mass of Brenham Meteorite
If we are talking all about breaking records, another piece of space rock also made hypes with its extraordinary quality to have a place in our top hit list. This Brenham meteorite is the world’s largest oriented meteorite with extraterrestrial gems of stones-olivine and perricot known to exist, discovered outside of Greensburg, Kansas in 2005. However, It fell on earth surface around 1000 years ago, weighing 650 kg!
This intact pallasite meteorite is also famous for displaying a beautiful parabola shaped dome formed when it was hurting through the earth’s atmosphere.
Because of its appealing beauty and extraordinary world breaking records, the price of this space rock hike up to $ 1,056,280+. Yes, the price is in plus, guys!
ONE
The Fukang Meteorite
And finally, we are here to meet the beauty of meteorite, which has snatched the place of number one. The only Fukang meteorite was originally found in the mountains near town Fukang in Xinjiang, China, in 2003 with a weight of 1,003 kg!
It is a pallasite meteorite of a stony-iron matrix with precious olivine crystals that vary in shape from rounded to angular, gleamed among a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron, creating a stunningly beautiful mosaic effect.
This 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite is the most priciest pallasite in this world till now making its worth $ 2 million!
Again, Here’s a quick recap of the Top 10 Most Expensive Meteorites in the world:
10.The Gibeon Meteorite
9.The Main Mass Of Zagami Meteorite
8. Dar Al Gani 1058 Lunar Meteorite
7.The Chelyabinsk Meteorite
6.The Zagami Martian Meteorite
5.The Springwater Meteorite
4.The Conception Junction Meteorite
3.The Willamette Meteorite
2.The Main Mass of Brenham Meteorite
1.The Fukang Meteorite
And that’s how our Top 10 list of expensive meteorites here happens to be finished. But let you know there are several thousands of meteorites in the market which are actually affordable in general price range. If you are keen to have an out of the world experience through a stony rock, you can literally rock it! Or you just can keep wishing and boom! A meteorite is on your doorstep!
So, next time if you see a star running through the night sky, just wish it to be yours forever!
GENERAL FAQ’s
What is the rarest meteorite?
If we are talking about the rarest meteorite on earth, one name actually can justify this enormous title! And the name is – one and only “Fukang Meteorite” This meteorite is the rarest and priciest one ever found on earth. It was discovered in China in 2003 and to date is one of the beautiful meteorites that exist on our mother planet. This meteorite is a pure pallasite type of stony-iron rock with appealing golden crystals of a mineral called olivine. And this beautiful piece of meteorite will worth you more than diamonds and golds!
Who owns a meteorite?
Buying a meteorite is the easiest way to own meteorite, and if one wants to have them through hunting and observing, they may have to go through a legal procedure. There are actually professionals who collect meteorites. They are known as meteorite hunters. They work as a specific person or as a group. And there are some famous programs and institutes that collect meteorite legally. ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorite Program) is one of them. Also, there are Some influential state-based organizations that also collect meteorites and legally own them.
What types of meteorites are worth money?
There are several types of meteorites that have been grazed the planet earth. Among them, the Lunar and the Martian meteorites are the most precious and worth of money. Lunar and Martian term actually used for those meteorites which are originated from Moon and Mars planet. These meteorites are very famous for their out of space origin and materials. And for that, these meteorites can range from $40/gram ( a prime specimen of lunar meteorite) to $1000/gram ( Martian meteorite) or more! So much pricier than Gold!
About Dawson Kutch
Dawson Kutch is a born and raised Alaskan who loves the outdoors and everything it has to offer. Kutch has been an avid hunter and fisher his entire life, and takes great pride in providing for himself and his family. While he enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, Kutch also has a passion for fashion and loves to stay up-to-date on the latest trends. In his free time, Kutch enjoys spending time with his wife and one young daughter. He is always looking to learn more and better himself, both as a writer and as a person.
