If a meteorite is found on your land, do you own it? (2024)

FAQs

If a meteorite is found on your land, do you own it? ›

And if you buy a meteorite from someone who found it on their land, you legally own it too. Things get more complicated if you find the meteorite on public lands. You might be allowed to keep it if the land is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, but there are several stipulations.

Meteorites can be collected for scientific and educational purposes, and can also be commercially collected. What are the authorities that govern collecting meteorites from public lands? The courts have long established that meteorites belong to the owner of the surface estate on which meteorites are found.

Courts have long established that meteorites belong to the owner of the surface estate. Therefore, meteorites found on public lands are part of the BLM's surface estate, belong to the Federal Government, and must be managed as natural resources in accordance with the FLPMA of 1976.

Collect and handle meteorites using clean gloves, tongs, or new aluminum foil. Common, household aluminum foil is a reasonable and inexpensive means to handle meteorites. Simply tear a fresh piece of foil off of the roll and pick up the meteorite with it. You can keep the foil wrapped around the meteorite indefinitely.

What to do if you think you have a meteorite? You may try contacting the Geological Survey of your state, a local college or university or college or a local natural history museum. In addition, there are a few commercial firms that will charge a fee for examining and identifying suspected meteorites.

We purchase individual meteorite specimens, entire collections, and also offer appraisal services. If you think you have found a meteorite, please start by reading our Guide to Meteorite Identification HERE. We also offer consignment services for important specimens, for a modest fee.

Are you looking to sell your meteorites or tektites? SkyFall will buy your entire collection, a part of your collection or even an individual specimen. If there was a confirmed meteorite fall in your area, town or village, then jump to Section 3.

meteorites found on public lands are subject to the 1906 Antiquities Act (16 U.S.C. 432) a meteorite does not qualify as a “valuable mineral” as defined under the 1872 Mining Law, and thus it is not subject to mineral claim rights that could otherwise be filed by the discoverer.

And if you buy a meteorite from someone who found it on their land, you legally own it too. Things get more complicated if you find the meteorite on public lands. You might be allowed to keep it if the land is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, but there are several stipulations.

Common iron meteorite prices are generally in the range of US$0.50 to US$5.00 per gram. Stone meteorites are much scarcer and priced in the US$2.00 to US$20.00 per gram range for the more common material. It is not unusual for the truly scarce material to exceed US$1,000 per gram.

Who owns a meteorite if it lands on your property? ›

If a meteorite lands on your property, in most cases the space rock is likely yours. The rock is yours unless your area has some strange meteorite ownership law, or if someone else can provide a better title to ownership of the rock.

Density: Meteorites are usually quite heavy for their size, since they contain metallic iron and dense minerals. Magnetic: Since most meteorites contain metallic iron, a magnet will often stick to them.

Other Insurance Topics

Falling objects—including satellites, asteroids, meteors and space debris—are covered under standard homeowners and business insurance policies.

The reported gold contents of meteorites range from 0.0003 to 8.74 parts per million. Gold is siderophilic, and the greatest amounts in meteorites are in the iron phases. Estimates of the gold content of the earth's crust are in the range ~f 0.001 to 0.006 parts per million.

The chance of finding a meteorite is exceedingly small. Since 1900, about 1900 meteorites have been found in North America. That is about 15 per year.

If you do not wish to send the specimen away, then check with your nearest natural history museum or college geology department and ask them if they have a meteorite collection and the facilities to recognize and authenticate (not give their best guess) a meteorite before handing over a sample.

Common iron meteorite prices are generally in the range of US$0.50 to US$5.00 per gram. Stone meteorites are much scarcer and priced in the US$2.00 to US$20.00 per gram range for the more common material.

Some unclassified meteorites will sell for around 50 cents per gram. More beautiful stones such as pallasites contain crystals and can look extremely dazzling when they're polished. Those can range all the way up to $40 dollars a gram. Rarer stones can fetch up to $1000 per gram if they're in good condition.

Meteorite values can range from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Are meteorites are attracted to magnets? Nearly all meteorites contain a significant amount of extraterrestrial iron, even those that look similar to terrestrial rocks (stony meteorites).

Although there are 64,000 meteorites in the world's collections, about two-thirds will never be available to the general public. And the resource is barely growing: each year, hunters recover only about eight to 10 fresh falls and a few hundred weathered non-Antarctic 'finds' (most of which weigh less than 200 grams).