To find a meteorite is really to hit the jackpot?

[Scosmico]

Few years ago (20) I read about a farmer in Brazil that found a two ton meteorite.

Today I discovered that he didn't manage to sell it. Even with analyses confirming that is a true meteorite.

Can someone get rich selling a meteorite? Or this is just another urban legend?

http://g1.globo.com/...milionario.html

[JB80]

The article seems to suggest he is only just wanting to sell it and has kept it secret for a long time.

I shouldn't imagine he'd have much trouble but at 75 tonnes it becomes a specialist item and I guess the price tag narrows the market. He could always slice it out.

Big money can be made but I don't think it's as simple as just stumbling across it. Most strewn fields probably require permits and are even off limits. Some of the meteorite hunting forums seem very cold and it can be hard to gather info.

There are certainly people who make a living off of meteorite hunting which I suppose leads to some of the unwillingness to see newcomers enter the market.

I'd love to actually go out hunting, if anyone knows how to facilitate this then let me know.

[John]

If you find a genuine meteorite and it is analysed and validated by an accredited lab then the market value can vary from 50p per gram up to several thousand pounds per gram depending on the type of meteorite it is and the weight found.

They are often found in North Africa and other dry places. UK finds are much, much rarer and command higher prices. But only if validated properly. Just claiming it's a meteorite isn't enough although every now and then somebody does try it on, usually on e.bay

[paul mc c]

As you know thousands of meteors enter the atmosphere every day,many the size of grains of sand,but many make it to ground,i tried i little experiment a while ago collecting some dirt from the gutter and carefully washed it leaving the tiny bits of dirt to dry,i then put the pieces of dirt on onto a piece of paper and then placed a magnet under neath the paper on and gently blew on the pieces and what was left attracted to the magnet was tiny pieces of meteorite,some actually a couple of mm in size.