Janice R. Andrews
A rock that was being used as a doorstop in a village in Romania has turned out to be a valuable prize worth more than $1 million. An old woman in Colti, Romania, found the 3.5-kilogram (7.7-pound) stone many years ago. She found it in a stream and used it to prop open doors in her house because she didn’t know what it was worth.
El Pais said that the rock that looked like any other turned out to be one of the biggest whole pieces of amber in the world. It was a very rare type of amber called rumanite. Amber is preserved tree resin that is millions of years old. It is highly valued for its warm colors and gem-like qualities. Amber has been taken from the sandstone sides of the River Buzau in Romania since the 1920s. Colti is known for having some of the best amber.
When the woman died in 1991, a family member who took over the house started to think that the doorstop might be worth more than they thought. He sold the amber to the Romanian government in the end, and scientists from the Museum of History in Krakow, Poland, said it was between 38 and 70 million years old.
The find was very important, according to Daniel Costache, head of the Provincial Museum of Buzau. He said, “Its discovery represents great significance both at a scientific and museum level.” The amber has been a national treasure since 2022. It is now kept in the Provincial Museum of Buzau, where it continues to draw people in.
A man in Michigan used a meteorite worth $100,000 as a door stop for years before he realized how important it really was. This amazing find reminds me of that man. A piece of amber found in Romania that is worth more than $1 million is a lesson that something that seems normal can sometimes be very special.
Now that such an important piece of history has been found, it’s interesting to think about how many new doorstops could be bought with the money. But none would be as amazing as this piece of old amber.
