Expected Auction Price Surpassed... The Most Expensive Meteorite in the World Sells for Record Amount

The Largest Martian Meteorite on Earth
Sold for 7.3 Billion Won at Sotheby's Auction in New York

The largest Martian meteorite on Earth, weighing nearly 25 kilograms, was sold for $5.3 million (about 7.37 billion won), exceeding the expected auction price by more than $1 million.

On July 17 (local time), CNN and other U.S. media outlets reported that the Martian meteorite "NWA 16788" was auctioned at Sotheby's in New York the previous day, fetching a total of $5.3 million including taxes and fees. Before the auction, Sotheby's had estimated its sale price at $2 million to $4 million. The meteorite measures 374.7 x 279.4 x 152.4 mm and weighs 24.67 kg. This makes it the largest Martian meteorite ever discovered on Earth, about 70% larger than the second-largest Martian meteorite. The identity of the winning bidder has not been disclosed.

The largest Martian meteorite on Earth sold for 5.3 million dollars. Sotheby's website

To date, about 400 Martian meteorites have been discovered on Earth. This accounts for only 0.6% of all meteorites. Because most meteorites break into small fragments as they pass through Earth's atmosphere, it is rare to find a Martian meteorite of significant weight on Earth.

"NWA 16788" was discovered by a meteorite hunter on July 16, 2023, in Kiffkiff, Niger, Africa. A small piece of this meteorite was donated to the Shanghai Astronomy Museum in China for compositional analysis. Sotheby's explained, "NWA 16788 is the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth and the most valuable of its kind ever offered at auction," adding, "This meteorite holds special significance."

Sotheby's further stated, "This meteorite, weathered over millions of years and marked by its enormous size and striking red color, is a once-in-a-generation find. It provides a tangible link to Mars, which has long captured the human imagination."

Sotheby's revealed that, based on an analysis of the internal composition of "NWA 16788," it is believed that the meteorite was ejected from the surface of Mars by a powerful asteroid impact and traveled through space. It is also reported that part of the meteorite's surface is covered with a glassy crust formed as it passed through Earth's atmosphere.