A Michigan man who was looking to purchase a farm in 1988 thought there was something odd looking about a rock located on the property. When he asked the owner about it the farmer told him it was a meteorite, that it was part of the property and he could have it as part of the sale.

The farmer went on to say that the meteorite struck the farm in the ’30s — “and it made a heck of a noise when it hit,” the new owner recalled him saying, according to CMU’s statement. In the morning, the farmer and his father found the crater and dug out the still-warm meteorite.

For the past thirty years, the man used it as a doorstop and sent it off to school with his children for show-and-tell.

After hearing stories of Michigan residents finding and selling meteorites the man wondered how much the rock was worth.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, brought the 22.5-pound rock to Central Michigan University looking for answers.

Mona Sirbescu, a CMU geology professor, gets asked all the time by people to examine the rocks they bring her — but none ever turn out to be an official space rock, until this one.

After testing, she determined it was in fact a meteorite, made of of 88.5% iron and 11.5% nickel and potentially worth $100,000.

“It’s the most valuable specimen I have ever held in my life, monetarily and scientifically,” Sibescu said.

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