New York Auction to Feature Authentic Moon Rocks

On November 29th, 2018, an auction will be held at Sotheby’s in New York featuring a variety of space-themed items and memorabilia. The crown jewel of the auction will be two small pieces of authentic moon rock, stored in a case with a magnifying glass. Despite their miniscule size, these samples are projected to sell for between $700,00 to $1 million. And yes, these are real moon rocks, not dried pieces of gum ordered off the back of a comic book.

The samples were retrieved in 1970 during the unmanned Soviet Luna-16 mission. Since their retrieval, they have been passed around by various owners and collectors, and were previously auctioned to an anonymous buyer in 1993 for $442,500. Interestingly, according to the bylaws set by America’s governing body on space, NASA, moon rocks are not allowed to be privately owned. However, this only applies to samples retrieved on NASA missions. Since these samples were retrieved by an outside party, they are fair game.

Before the auction, on November 25th, the moon rocks, as well as the other items that will be for sale, will be on display in a public exhibition. If you want to see these rocks before they spend another twenty years in some rich guy’s parlor, that’s the time to do it.

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5 years ago
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