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Huge Martian chunk sells for $4.3 million — plus fees [1]
['Gail Sherman']
Date: 2025-07-17
A meteorite known as NWA 16788 was found in the Sahara Desert in 2023. The composition of the meteorite is Martian shergottite, or lava from a planet other than the Earth. Weighing over 54 pounds, it is the largest of only 400 known Martian meteorites by far.
Sotheby's billed it as "The Largest Piece of Mars on Earth" when it went up for auction today. Bidding began at $2 million due to advance bids, and the bidding closed at $4.3 million, just over the estimated selling price of $4 million. According to Space.com, additional fees add another $1 million to the cost.
The live bidding for the meteorite was somewhat slow. However, the battle for another item, a juvenile Ceratosaurus fossil, which started at $3 million, was spirited, with a final bid of $26 million and a total sale price exceeding $30 million.
Other items up for bid included numerous meteorites and fossils, including a fossilized T. Rex foot. The natural history auction was the second of three "Geek Week" auctions at Sotheby's. The "History of Science & Technology" auction features signed letters from Albert Einstein and the "Romkey" Apple-1, considered the finest working example of the Apple-1 Computer from the first batch ever produced in 1976. Bidding is already underway, with the current bid standing at $350,000.
Previously:
• A surprise meteorite hit the moon during Monday's total lunar eclipse
• You didn't find a meteorite
• Spherical-cut meteorite on ebay, yours for $18,000
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