Woman kept stone for decades at her doorstop, later found it's worth Rs...

In an unconventional move, a Romanian woman used a big chunk of amber as her doorstop for many years unaware of its worth. The naturally occurring stone weighs 3.5-kilogram (7.7-pound) which the woman recovered from Southeastern Romania’s stream bed. What makes that stone special, apart from its value as a natural resource, is that it is one of the largest complete pieces of amber to be found with a value of $1.1 million (Rs 93,986,740).  

What is Amber 

Amber is a resource that occurs naturally and is yellowish-orange in colour and is a fossilized tree resin, known for its beauty and versatility. It is commonly found around the Romian village, Colti. Here, Amber’s mining has been taking place since 1920s. The kind of Amber the woman had found is called rumanite that has a rich red tone.  

A report by El Pais states that the the Romanian authorities took the rare stone from the woman and gave it to the Museum of History in Krakow (Poland). The Museum received the stone in order to study it, as, they have a dedicated section for the study of semi-precious stones. After studying the stone, experts from the Polish museum affirmed the authenticity of the amber stone and assessed its origin to be somewhere around 38.5 and 70 million years old.   

Provincial Museum of Buzau’s, where the stone is kept for study purpose, director Daniel Costache said, “Its discovery represents a great significance both at a scientific level and at a museum level.” He believes that the stone is invaluable and also claims that it is among the largest pieces in the world and the largest of its kind. “A grandmother in Romania used a 3.5 kg black amber as a doorstop without knowing it was worth a million euros. The amber is now a collection piece at the Buzău museum after being identified as a national treasure,” wrote the museum on their X handle. 

#BMnoticias Una abuelita en Rumanía usó un ámbar negro de 3.5 kilos como tope de puerta sin saber que valía un millón de euros. El ámbar ahora es una pieza de colección en el museo de Buzău tras ser identificado como un tesoro nacional.https://t.co/ptrY4EyFUH pic.twitter.com/8Vr3ADGKv7

— BM NOTICIAS (@bmnoticiasmx) September 5, 2024

The woman who possessed the stone died in 1991 and, recognising the significant value of the stone, her relative sold it to the Romanian state.