HELP! I may have hit the meteorite lottery!!!

While at a local beach with the kids I noticed a small portion of the "meteorite" showing from beneath a piece of driftwood.


After much digging and sand removal I was able to inspect the "meteorite" in its entirety. I've watched many shows on meteorites, mainly meteorite men, and I must say it seems to be a meteorite. I'm posting this to see if there's any meteorite collectors or specialist on ats that could help me determine if this is an actual meteorite or meteor-wrong. After finding the specimen, I went home to do some research. I found many sites to help me determine whether or not it is a meteorite. I went back to the beach a week later, ( I had to go out of town ) to discover that a recent storm had completely exposed the "meteorite"


I was thrilled to find it exposed because I had brought my "meteorite test kit". My research on the internet said it should be magnetic.... Check! Should have black to dark brown exterior with some "thumbprints"... Check! Should show signs of rust present... Check! Should be heavier than it appears... Check! (I estimate it at 400-500 lbs). Should have silvery metallic flakes or solid shiny metal beneath the crust... Check!


Using my handheld drill I made a test hole in the "meteorite" and it revealed perfectly shiny metal! (Silver spot in the middle of the picture)
The only test I couldn't perform was a chemical test for the presence of nickel. (Telltale proof of a meteorite)
From my online research, I would classify this as an iron or a stony-iron meteorite.

So if anyone can help me out with determining if this is a meteorite I would sure appreciate it! I'm going with three other guys tomorrow to retrieve the specimen and take it home. So either I'm gonna be a rich man or I will have a very heavy garden ornament.

If it turns out to be a real meteorite, may I suggest setting up an ebay account asap, so as to hit the ebay-meteorite lottery, instead of just the meteorite lottery...

whats the location of the rock
where'd ya find it...

Its possibly a meteorite.

I think the possibility that its a shipwreck may be more likely though. I've seen a few shipwrecks(I SCUBA dive) that have been subject to salt water for >100 years and the old boilers look nothing like there original shapes(more like what you have there) as the corrosion and abrasive sand wear them down pretty quickly.

If its a shipwreck, there could be a treasure trove of items buried in the sand around it, for example bottles, jewellery, etc.

You might want to check into government regulations on salvage. Some older wrecks are protected by legislation and will require a permit to excavate.

Keep the location secret until you know where you stand in a legal sense.


S&F

If you are not able to recover it immediately, I would suggest covering it up or camouflaging it some how until you can recover it.

This is an awesome find for you, if it is indeed a meteorite. This could be worth a large sum of money to the right collector.

That is so kewl.......if its magnetic, go get it ASAP because you just found one. How big is it? Definetly tell nobody what you found, its gonna be heavy so you will probably need some kind of lift winch etc.....keep us updated!

reply to post by spoonbender


Its on a small beach that butts up to a 20 foot cliff. The beach is on lake erie, ohio side. My thoughts on how it may have got there are:
1- it fell to earth many years ago on land and due to erosion of the cliff by waves it came to be exposed.
2-it was carried to its current location by glacial movement from another location.

reply to post by iLoGiCViZiOnS


Its every bit of 4-500 lbs. And I am going to get it tomorrow with three other guys and a heavy duty dolly. Were getting it come hell or higH water! Lol

Very cool! I dont know much about them at all

But it sounds like you found one from your checklist... How much is it potentially worth if it is 400 lbs?

reply to post by morder1


Potentially $100,000+ depending on its classification. Iron meteorites are more rare than stony meteorites. The sky's the limit at auction though.

Originally posted by imawlinn
reply to post by iLoGiCViZiOnS

 

Its every bit of 4-500 lbs. And I am going to get it tomorrow with three other guys and a heavy duty dolly. Were getting it come hell or higH water! Lol

20 ft cliff, check, ohio side lake erie, check, dont bother im on my way will be gone by morning lol jk good find

Congradulations brother! Since I was four years old when I had a dream of picking up a meteorite I watched hit the deck I have wished.

I bought a 4 gram 1/8th inch thick slice for $50. Sold in pieces it's potentially worth hundreds of thousands. It would be incredible if a private investor keep it in one huge chunk. So awesome that an average dude found it

You'll need a trailer/wagon with jumbo monster mudder tires. Just saying

Well we went to try and retrive the alledged meteorite only to discover that it has a flat bottom. I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that's a deal breaker. The dam thing is heavy too! Tweaked my back probably for nothing.






We did manage to break a piece off and it does show crystalized metal so I don't know.


It's pretty blurry but you can clearly see the shimmering metal crystal formations.


I guess I'll try to have it analyzed. But until then it's still sitting on the beach.

I would go ahead and take it home....if only for the great story value alone. It's been exciting following the story here.

Good Luck and don't give up....who knows how the underside got flat, that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.....

Just do it!

Yep you should set that baby up in yer garden at least....It isnt every day one gets that close to a fortune and an outerspace artifact is it?
Maybe the flat bottom was ground off by the glacier that carried it?
Just sayin..............

reply to post by Destinyone


thanks! I am going to send sample away for analysis.
Ya never know.

reply to post by stirling


That is an excellent theory! It never crossed my mind. I will continue my investigation.

Be careful, there's that movie, Joe Dirt, where he finds a meteorite.

Only it's not a meteorite. It's actually frozen space dung.

I'm just saying, definitely take it home, but don't eat off of it until you get some results back.

Great find by the way.

Check your state laws . If found on public or BLM land it may not belong to you even though you found it . Different states have different laws somewhat like artifact hunting , arrowheads and things like that . Get the chemical analysis done and it sounds like you know the reputable places . If it's authenticated as a meteorite you "may" be much better off finding it on your own private land or the private land of a friend that you have permission to be on . In fact , given the possible value "if" it is authenticated it might be an idea to edit your post because you were mistaken about where you found it . If it's an iron or a stoney iron of a few hundred pounds the estimate of 100 grand may be a little heavy but it still could be very valuable . Lunar , martian and pallasites command the big bucks . I wouldn't let the flat bottom stop me until i had a chemical analysis and verification . It could be a big piece of slag . I've never seen crystals in an iron or stony iron but i have in pallasites although that doesn't look like a pallasite . If you know anyone into lapidary give them a small piece to cut flat with a diamond saw and then polish it . Look for a "Widmanstatten pattern" . At many pharmacies you can get water testing kit that tests for various elements . There is a nickel test kit . Go to Robert Haags website meteoriteman.com... His phone number is in the Contact but he can be hard to get hold of . He's absolutely straight up and honest and can offer valuable advice . Tell him what you suspect you may have found and he'll want the pics . If he's out somewhere on the planet hunting meteorites , he checks his messages and will get back to you if you describe several hundred pounds . Hope that helps .

reply to post by bandito


Thanks for the great advice and thoughts! Its driving me crazy leaving it there and I won't rest easy until its in my garage. Definitely going to look into laws and regs for this sort of thing just in case. And after hurting my back today I am upping my weight estimate to 5-600 lbs. The flat bottom looks nothing like the rest of the exterior. Its all exposed metal with a slight surface rust. I'll keep updating as I find out any new news.