A stone picked up from a stream and kept for decades is worth 1.5 billion won... "The world's largest amber"

An Elderly Man Found It in a Stream... "Even Thieves Ignore It"
Expert Appraisal Values It at Over $1.1 Million

A stone used for decades to prop open a door in a village in Romania has been revealed to be a treasure worth as much as 1.5 billion won. This stone was identified as amber, a type of gemstone, and has been exhibited in a museum. On the 11th (local time), British media The Sun and Spanish daily El Paso reported the story of the world's largest amber piece held by the Buz?u County Museum in Romania. This amber was discovered long ago by an elderly man whose identity remains undisclosed.

The elderly man, who lived in Col?i, a village in southeastern Romania, found a uniquely shaped 3.5 kg stone in a nearby stream and used it as a doorstop. Even thieves who broke into the man's house to steal jewels showed no interest in this stone. The man's family recalled, "The robbers were frantically searching for valuables and failed to recognize the real treasure right before their eyes."

Pumpkin reference photo [Image source=Pixabay]

After the man passed away in 1991, his heirs inherited the house and instinctively felt that the stone with its unusual color was special, so they conducted a separate investigation and sold it to the Romanian government. When Romanian authorities requested an appraisal from experts at the Historical Museum of Krak?w in Poland, the stone was estimated to be amber formed between 38.5 million and 70 million years ago.

The Romanian government designated it as a national treasure, and since 2022, it has been held by the Buz?u County Museum in Romania. Museum director Daniel Costache stated, "This amber has great value not only scientifically but also as a museum exhibit," adding, "It is estimated to be the largest amber in the world." Some experts have valued this amber at over 1.1 million dollars.

Amber is a mineral formed when tree resin and other substances are buried underground and combine with elements such as hydrogen and carbon. The name amber (琥珀) originates from ancient China, where it was believed that when a tiger died, its spirit would go into the earth and become a stone. Its age typically ranges from 30 million to 90 million years, and it has been used as jewelry since the Stone Age, about 13,000 years ago.

Amber sometimes contains insects, small mammals, or plants inside, preserving ancient forms as it hardens. Because of this, it became famous as the material used in the movie "Jurassic Park."