Rock used as doorstop for decades is meteorite worth $100K

In this Sept. 14, 2018 photo provided by Central Michigan University, Monaliza Sirbescu, a geology faculty member in earth and atmospheric sciences shows off a 22-plus pound meteorite that was being used as a doorstop on a farm in Edmore, Mich. The iron and nickel meteorite is the sixth largest meteorite found in Michigan, according to the Smithsonian Museum and Central Michigan University. Owner David Mazurek said the meteorite came with a barn he bought in 1988 in Edmore. He says the farmer who sold him the property told him it landed in his backyard in the 1930s. (Mackenzie Brockman/Central Michigan University via AP)

Credit: Mackenzie Brockman

Credit: Mackenzie Brockman

In this Sept. 14, 2018 photo provided by Central Michigan University, Monaliza Sirbescu, a geology faculty member in earth and atmospheric sciences shows off a 22-plus pound meteorite that was being used as a doorstop on a farm in Edmore, Mich. The iron and nickel meteorite is the sixth largest meteorite found in Michigan, according to the Smithsonian Museum and Central Michigan University. Owner David Mazurek said the meteorite came with a barn he bought in 1988 in Edmore. He says the farmer who sold him the property told him it landed in his backyard in the 1930s. (Mackenzie Brockman/Central Michigan University via AP)

After reading about pieces of meteorites selling for thousands of dollars, David Mazurek decided to learn more about the large rock he had used for decades as a doorstop.

It turns out the 23-pound rock is full of iron and nickel and worth about $100,000, researchers at the Central Michigan University and the Smithsonian Museum determined.

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“I could tell right away that this was something special,” CMU geology professor Mona Sirbescu said. “It’s the most valuable specimen I have ever held in my life, monetarily and scientifically.”

Sirbescu first identified it as more than just a rock. She then sent two pieces of it to the Smithsonian for confirmation.

Mazurek said he got the meteorite with a barn he bought in 1988. The farmer who sold him the property said it landed in the 1930s.

The Smithsonian and a mineral museum in Maine are interested in purchasing it.

“I’m done using it as a doorstop,” Mazurek said. “Let’s get a buyer!”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.