Kennel hit by space rock, meteorite sold in disappointing auction
As all eyes were on a chunk of Martian rock that was expected to sell for $500,000 to $800,000 at Christie's auction, but it failed to find a buyer.
A bidder paid $189,000 for a chunk of lunar rock that was discovered in Morocco in 2007, below pre-sale estimates of up to $300,000.
A Christie's auction of rare meteorites has sold a rock from space that narrowly missed a German Shepherd when it smashed into his kennel in Costa Rica.
But the offer of the third-largest piece of Mars on Earth failed to make an impact at the auction house's annual sale of unusual meteorites.
The buyer paid $21,420 for the three-by-1.5 inch (eight-by-four centimetre) carbonaceous chondrite stone on Wednesday that landed in the garden of dog Roky's owner's home in Aguas Zarcas in April 2019.
The wood and tin doghouse itself, complete with a seven-inch hole marking where the meteorite punctured the roof, sold separately for $44,100, Christie's said.
That was much less than the pre-sale estimate of between $200,000 and $300,000.
Meteorites are striking gold among collectors, with a dilapidated dog house that survived a hit from outer space expected to fetch up to $300,000 at a Christie's auction, and a chunk of Mars going for as much as $800,000 https://t.co/B9wwXQEPxj pic.twitter.com/Cwb5m9u2qp
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 23, 2022
Disappointing auction
A bidder paid $189,000 for a chunk of lunar rock that was discovered in Morocco in 2007, below pre-sale estimates of up to $300,000.
Another slice of the Moon — found in the Sahara desert in Mauritania — fetched $69,300 during the two-week online sale that ended on Wednesday.
It was a disappointing auction for Mars, though.
The 9.1 kg Martian rock had been priced at between $500,000 and $800,000 but failed to find a buyer.
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