Man Learns Rock He Was Using As Door Stop For 30 Years Is Worth $100,000 After Finding Out Where It Came From

Sometimes we use things around the house without giving them much thought, only to find out later they’re worth a fortune.

Imagine the surprise of one Michigan man when he discovered that the rock he’d been using as a doorstop for decades was actually worth a staggering $100,000.

Back in 1988, when the man moved into his new home in Edmore, Michigan, a farmer gave him the rock.

The farmer mentioned it was a meteorite. As the farmer showed him around the property, the man noticed a large rock being used as a doorstop in the shed. Curious, he asked about it.

The farmer explained that it was no ordinary rock. He said it was a meteorite he had found that ‘made a heck of a noise when it hit’ the Earth.

To his surprise, the farmer told him it was part of the property, so he could keep it.

The rock fell out of the sky. Central Michigan University

The farmer went on to say that he had seen the meteorite come crashing down one night back in the 1930s.

Intrigued, he set out to find where it had landed. After locating it, he dug it up while it was still warm from the impact and has kept it ever since.

Then, in 1988, he handed it over to the new homeowner.

For the next 30 years, the man simply used the meteorite as a convenient doorstop and didn’t think much about its origins.

That is, until recently, when curiosity struck and he decided to see if the rock had any real value. He brought it to be evaluated and that’s when things got interesting.

Monaliza Sirbescu, a geology professor at Central Michigan University who specializes in Earth and atmospheric sciences, was the one to examine the rock.

Using x-ray fluorescence, she could immediately tell that it was something extraordinary. Sirbescu told the Daily Mail she ‘could tell right away that this was something special’.

The reason it was so unique? The meteorite was composed of an iron-nickel mixture, with 88 percent iron and 12 percent nickel.

Now, nickel is not a common element on Earth, making this meteorite an exciting discovery.

Most iron meteorites are made up of about 95 percent iron, with the rest consisting of heavy metals like gallium or gold, but this one was made of 12 percent pure nickel.

Sirbescu shared her amazement, saying: “It's the most valuable specimen I have ever held in my life, monetarily and scientifically.

“Just think, what I was holding is a piece of the early solar system that literally fell into our hands.”

Researcher Monaliza Sirbescu with the rock Central Michigan University

Not only had the owner used this rare meteorite as a doorstop for over three decades, but he also let his children take it to school for show and tell.

It’s hard to believe, but this rock, which had casually sat by his door for so long, turned out to be a remarkable piece of history.

Since being evaluated, the meteorite has officially been named the ‘Edmore meteorite’, after the town where it fell all those years ago.