The price a meteorite fragment can fetch: up to 30 times more expensive than gold

Finding a celestial object after it impacts Earth is a complex activity that requires research, funding, and often a great deal of luck. But should it happen to you, you could have a very unique keepsake, or if you choose to part with it a nice pay day coming.

Stephan Decker, the manager of the Meteorite Museum in Oberwesel, Germany, and a specialist in the meteorite trade, shared his knowledge about the high prices a single gram of meteorite can reach. According to Decker, a single gram of meteorite can reach prices approaching $6,000 depending on the object’s composition, condition, and the date it was discovered.

In Germany, according to current regulations, if a person finds a meteorite fragment on their private property or on public land, they may claim it and keep it as their own. Situations like this rarely occur. More commonly, institutions connected to the study of celestial objects or astronomy purchase small fragments.

However, in some German states, meteorite fragments can only be transferred to institutions dedicated to the study and exhibition of these celestial objects if the discovery is considered to have special scientific value. If it is not deemed scientifically significant, the fragment becomes the property of the state in exchange for a reward granted to the individual or institution responsible for finding it.

Meteorite fragments rain down over Germany

Earlier this month, a meteorite that entered Earth’s atmosphere caused damage to a house in Koblenz-Güls, a city south of Bonn, Germany. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the object caused no injuries despite the damage reported in the German district. If the fragments are found on the property of the affected homeowners and they are the ones who discover the meteorite remains, the country’s regulations would allow them to claim the fragments as their own.

The meteorite passed through Earth’s atmosphere and was visible to thousands of people who happened to be looking at the sky at the time for about six seconds. Several witnesses recorded the unusual phenomenon with their mobile phones, documenting an event that occurs with a frequency ranging from once every few weeks to once every few years.

Its entry into Earth’s atmosphere caught several researchers by surprise after it went undetected by large-scale telescopes that scan the skies for celestial objects traveling close to Earth. The meteorite’s exact size is still unknown, but the Planetary Defense team of the ESA’s Space Safety Programme estimates that it measured several feet in diameter based on the available data.

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