Moonstone 'Rijksmuseum' seems Fake !

The moonstone which is in the possession of the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam Holland) did not came from the moon. Geologists from the Free University examined the object and say it's a piece of petrified wood.

In 1969 former Prime Minister Drees received the stone from the hands of the American Ambassador Middendorf. That was because the visit to the Netherlands of the astronauts of Apollo 11, in 1969 when humans first landed on the moon.

The Rijksmuseum had the rock insurance for 100,000 guilders. Experts say that the piece of petrified wood at most 50 euros worth.

Source: NOS

It sounds like it might have been a misunderstanding that grew a life of its own.

Middendorf, who lives in Rhode Island, told Dutch broadcaster NOS news that he had gotten it from the U.S. State Department, but couldn't recall the exact details.

"I do remember that (Drees) was very interested in the little piece of stone," the NOS quoted Middendorf as saying. "But that it's not real, I don't know anything about that."

She said the space agency told the museum then that it was possible the Netherlands had received a rock: NASA gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries in the early 1970s, but those were from later missions.

"Apparently no one thought to doubt it, since it came from the prime minister's collection," Van Gelder said.

The rock is not usually on display; the museum is primarily known for its paintings and other works of fine art by masters such as Rembrandt.

A jagged fist-size stone with reddish tints, it was mounted and placed above a plaque that said, "With the compliments of the Ambassador of the United States of America ... to commemorate the visit to The Netherlands of the Apollo-11 astronauts." The plaque does not specify that the rock came from the moon's surface

www.google.com...

Fake you say? I say... How do you know there aren't old pieces of fragmented wood on the moon

If it's genuine, it's the ultimate evidence that there ís vegetation on the moon.

BTW, here's the original source in Dutch:
headlines.nos.nl...

reply to post by Haunebu

There is no indication that it actually came from the moon. It may have been an intentional deception on the part of the State Department but I think it was more likely a misunderstanding on the part of Middendorf. But then, the plaque does not say it came from the moon, either.

Middendorf says he got it from the State Department, not NASA. He gave it to Drees in 1969. NASA did not start giving away moon rocks until the 1970's.


[edit on 8/27/2009 by Phage]

reply to post by webstra


The plaque doesn't specifically state that the rock came from the moon but you have to admit the implication is there. Why bother giving that chunk of petrified wood at all unless it was supposed to have some significance?

To make this clear;

It was handed out by Ambassador J. W. Middendorf as the Apollo 11 crew visited Holland in late 1969.

The moonstone in the project-stage, in 1969 brought to earth after the first successful landing on the moon during a manned space flight. The three crew members of Apollo 11 visited the same year the Netherlands. On this occasion, the U.S. ambassador gave the moonstone to former Prime Minister Willem Drees Sr. The stone remained in his collection, but, following the death of the statesman in became in possession as gift for the Rijksmuseum.

(Source Dutch State Advisory Institute: www.rijksbouwmeester.nl... DUTCH! Translate with google if you don't believe me)

Google: petrified wood moon rock


For all the web stories.

Never assume the rock is from the Moon when the Ambassador and
the original Moon Walking Crew hand you a good will rock.

So far that's how the story stands.
This is perhaps one great story of interplanetary actions before
any of Velakovski explanations.

Originally posted by Phage
Middendorf says he got it from the State Department, not NASA. He gave it to Drees in 1969. NASA did not start giving away moon rocks until the 1970's.

That's also what I've been told by a guy in the moon rock office. A small Apollo-11 chip was given to the Dutch government a year or two later, but there is no record of any gift to the retired Dutch politician in question.

Here's what he emailed me this morning:

The rock is not a lunar rock.

If you recall, Nixon gave the heads of state an Apollo rock chip in a small lucite sphere. The sphere was mounted on a small presentation board along with a flag of that nation. The flag was carried by Apollo 11. The sample is from one of the A-11 basalts.

I have personally seen the Pakistan sample (sphere mounted on the board with the green and white Pakistan flag) offered for sale in the UK. I was visiting the Natural History Museum around ~1984 when the Curator of meteorites received a phone call from an individual stating that he had a lunar rock for sale. The Curator, Robert Hutchison, invited the man to bring the sample to the Museum. Believe it or not, within the hour the Pakistan individual showed up at the museum with the display piece in a couple of plastic bags. Yes, it was the presentation piece given to the Head of Pakistan by Nixon. I asked the individual where he obtained the sample. He said it had been taken by someone in the Bhutto regime. When Zia took over, the sample left the possession of the government and taken by a member of the Bhutto family. The man who had the sample was a "distant" cousin of Bhutto. The individual offered the sample for sale. When Robert Hutchison told the man that the sample had no commercial value, the individual was very disappointed, put the sample in the plastic bag and walked out of the Natural History Museum. That was the last time we saw or heard of the sample. We must remember that when the Apollo 11 samples were given to the heads of state by Nixon, they left the possession or control of the U.S.

On the A-17 mission Cernan collected a sample which was distributed to the "children of the world". A small chip of the basalt along with different nation's flags were also presented to all of the world's nations. Again, small fragment of lunar material was placed in a lucite sphere along with the flown A-17 mission flag of that specific nation, were mounted on a small presentation wooden board.

Here is an English version of the story if anyone has an interest.

news.aol.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c6a98d08f741.png[/atsimg]
The museum acquired the rock after the death of former Prime Minister Willem Drees in 1988. Drees received it as a private gift on Oct. 9, 1969, from then-U.S. ambassador J. William Middendorf during a visit by the three Apollo 11 astronauts, part of their "Giant Leap" goodwill tour after the first moon landing.

There is a moon stone on a danish musem behind plexy glass, but the museum got no plans to examine it

Sorry for hijacking this thread but this seems more appropriate here.
Responding to this post/thread:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

It is clear that former PM Willem Drees did get a piece of petrified wood from the US ambassador

No this isn't clear at all. There is a card with a very generic text dated on 9 October 1969 and there is a piece of petrified wood. The only relation between the two which seems certain is that they were in the same drawer at Willem Drees desk. The rest of the story didn't develop until 2009.

Now anyone has a source article of Middendorf giving a "moon rock" to Drees.

“I do remember that Drees was very interested in the little piece of stone. But that it’s not real, I don’t know anything about that,” Mr Middendorf said.

This doesn't say anything about giving a moon rock to Drees, on the contrary "Drees was very interested" sounds much more somebody was allowed to watch at a rock. It simply doesn't say anything about giving.

Also the "little piece of stone" doesn't fit the piece of petrified wood, it wasn't little, even you describe this as "big moon rock".
Now again lets read the quote again, but also look at the pictures below:

“I do remember that Drees was very interested in the little piece of stone. But that it’s not real, I don’t know anything about that,” Mr Middendorf said.

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3