- What we got there?
I have something here that is out of this world.
[mystical music]
A meteorite.
Cool.
[laughs] Can I touch it?
Yes, sir.
RICK: It's meteorite not kryptonite, right?
[laughter]
Meteorite hunting is a hobby of mine.
It's awesome to hold something in your hands
that has come from billions and billions of miles away.
You're first human beings to ever touch.
Today I would like to get $4,700 for my stone.
The least that I'm willing to take would be $2,000.
RICK: What's it made out of?
CHRISTOPHER: Nickel, iron, and just ordinary chondritic stone.
If you look around the outside edge here,
you will see what they call a fusion crust.
That's the black line that goes all the way
around the outside of it.
And it's from material melting off of it as it
comes into the atmosphere.
It's only been on the ground for maybe three
to five months, approximately.
Only a few months?
Yeah.
You can see here where it was lying on the ground.
You can see part of the sand from where it was
laying up on top of the soil.
And the fact that it's still rusted
shows that the patina hasn't worn off yet.
If it was there for longer, it would be nice and smooth.
RICK: I mean, it's not of this Earth.
Yeah, it traveled billions of miles
to land here and in your hands.
RICK: Oh, more than billions-- billions and billions.
CHRISTOPHER: Billions and billions.
[laughter] Yeah.
I mean, if it's real, it's really cool.
I mean, I dig it.
I think it's really neat.
I mean, big problem is I don't deal in meteorites.
And I don't even know if it's a meteorite.
CHRISTOPHER: OK. - I want someone to look at it.
He'll do whatever he does.
He'll be able to tell me it's a meteorite right here.
I'm going to go give him a jingle.
Hang out.
I don't have any meteorites, but I have other stuff for sale.
So check them out. CHRISTOPHER: All right.
Sounds good.
How much do you want for it?
I'd like to get $4,700.
We'll talk-- let me-- let me talk to my buddy first, OK?
CHRISTOPHER: OK.
All right. Hang out.
He'll be here in a few minutes.
And we'll do some business, bro.
CHRISTOPHER: Fair enough.
ROBERT VERISH: I've been hunting meteorites
for the last 20 years.
It's just a whole lot of fun.
It gets me outdoors.
It gets me to feel I'm young again.
I'm a meteorite hunter.
Rick, so what are your concerns about this stone?
RICK: OK, I mean, is it a meteorite?
Well, I got to tell you, you know, a lot of people
come to me saying, hey, is my rock a meteorite?
You know, it's-- it's rarely, if ever, a meteorite.
So I'm going to say that first, OK?
I don't want to get your hopes up there.
So tell me a little more about how you found this.
Well this was found on a dry lake in Southern California.
[inaudible] it with my magnet.
Can I have your permission to do that again?
Absolutely.
I normally don't put a magnet on a meteorite.
If I'm in the field, sometimes you have to.
OK.
All right, that's interesting.
You saw that how that danced on there?
That's a strong attraction.
This is really exciting.
I'm going to look at it a little closer.
What you're looking for is whether it has these round
grains of metal and whether it also has these round
spheres of silicates.
OK, so it's-- so it's a meteorite?
That rock is older than this planet.
That thing was solid before this planet ever solidified.
Wow, that's pretty cool.
ROBERT VERISH: Chris, tell me about where
the other piece of this is?
The other piece is actually at UCLA right now.
It is actually cataloged. - Cataloged?
Yeah, it's cataloged in an international
official meteorite database.
The big question, what do you think it's worth?
Well, Rick, I got to tell you, if this meteorite
wasn't cataloged, it would fetch $10 a gram.
But this is a graded cataloged meteorite.
This is a $4,000 meteorite.
OK.
Cool. Thanks, man.
You're welcome.
It was a real pleasure to be able to tell somebody, hey,
this is really a meteorite.
These are the oldest rocks in the solar system.
They're even older than the world, our own planet.
Bob said it's worth right around 4 grand.
I have to resell this, OK?
It takes work.
I mean, realistically, it just looks like a rock.
I got to figure out a way to make it not look like a rock,
and I can give you $1,800.
Could you do $2,250?
It is one of a kind.
To a degree.
It's the only meteorite in the world that's shaped like this.
Will you take 2 grand for it?
Nah, I can't go that low.
I mean--
It'll look beautiful in here under the lights.
I'll give you $2,100.
I'm not-- I won't give you a dime more.
I mean, that's-- that's it.
CHRISTOPHER: That's it?
That is it.
[clears throat]
$2,100 sounds fair.
RICK: OK. deal, man.
Thank you very much.
All right, I'll meet you right over there
at the [inaudible] counter.
We'll write this up.
All righty.
$2,100 for something that fell from outer space--
you know, I didn't really have to do
anything except pick it up.
It was pretty good.