The Best Finders Keepers EVER!! - Moon Dust from 1969 Neil Armstrong Trip

There's a couple of different articles on this, I'll provide cliffs:



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-moon-dust-bag-for-sale-auction-met-20170522-story.html



http://wgntv.com/2017/05/22/chicago-woman-takes-on-nasa-and-wins-now-selling-awarded-moon-dust-for-4-million-dollars/



Bag with moon dust from 1969 trip to moon was accidentally placed in a public auction.  



Ended without bids 3 times.  Finally a Chicago lawyer won it for $995.



She sends it to NASA to verify as authentic moon dust a year later, NASA verifies it and refuses to give it back, saying they made a mistake.  



She sues for rights and courts decide in her favor, saying she legally acquired it.



Will be auctioned off on July 28th, the 48th landing anniversary of Apollo 11.  She said she plans to donate some of the money towards scientific research.



Should be interested to see where it winds up.  This is being stated as a once-in-a-lifetime event as space material supposedly never comes up for public auction.  Apparently they sometimes show up on the black market after being given to dignitaries, museums or foreign entities, but this may be the first public auction with a winner take all.



Puts our Finders Keepers in perspective!
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Comments

  • Yeesh, who would pay that much for dirt?
  • Glad to hear she got it back. I remember when NASA said they were keeping it. Dick move, thought I.
  • That find is...out of this world
  • I bet she was over the moon when she got her bag of dirt back.
  • I hope she tries to smoke some of it first.
  • Originally posted by: dra600n



    Yeesh, who would pay that much for dirt?

    *looking at dirt encrusted ET cart from landfill*



     



     
  • I hadn't heard about this. I actually knew the guy who stole it along with all of the other stuff from the museum that he mixed into his "private collection" because my mom worked there and I always thought he was a scumbag  
  • For a good story about how highly valued moon rocks are: I recommend the book "Sex on the moon" by Ben Mezrich, the guy who wrote Bringing Down the House and of The Accidental Billionaires, (that were turned into the movies 21 and The Social Network)
  • Originally posted by: nintendopower_4_ever



    I hadn't heard about this. I actually knew the guy who stole it along with all of the other stuff from the museum that he mixed into his "private collection" because my mom worked there and I always thought he was a dirtbag  





    fixed
  • I was reading this the other day, glad she took them to court and get to keep it, I wonder how long it would take until NASA decides to flood the market  
  • That's insane! I can't believe it failed to be bid on three times, and STILL no one noticed the bag.
  • Originally posted by: nintendopower_4_ever

    I hadn't heard about this. I actually knew the guy who stole it along with all of the other stuff from the museum that he mixed into his "private collection" because my mom worked there and I always thought he was a scumbag  





    Are you talking about Max Ary? The former director of the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS? That guy stole so much from that museum.
  • BTW, if anyone is even thinking of bidding, be sure to watch Apollo 18 first.  
  • Originally posted by: bubbapauls





    Are you talking about Max Ary? The former director of the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS? That guy stole so much from that museum.



    Yep. I used to spend a lot of time there and he would even let play in the safe and go through all of the strange coins that people donated and they couldn't cash out. lol

    I haven't lived in Kansas since '99 so I never heard about any of the stuff he was doing

     
  • "Dust in the wind

    All they are is dust in the wind"
  • Looks like she.... left them in the.... never mind.
  • Originally posted by: nintendopower_4_ever

     
    Originally posted by: bubbapauls





    Are you talking about Max Ary? The former director of the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS? That guy stole so much from that museum.



    Yep. I used to spend a lot of time there and he would even let play in the safe and go through all of the strange coins that people donated and they couldn't cash out. lol

    I haven't lived in Kansas since '99 so I never heard about any of the stuff he was doing

     



    I dated a girl that worked there forever as a camp counselor.  She showed me a list of the things he had stolen and sold on eBay and through an auction house.  He also stole half of the moon dust and moon rock samples the museum had.  There was more to the story but it has been a few years and I can't remember everything.



    Link to the story: http://www.space.com/941-museum-director-indicted-theft-space-artifacts.html

     
  • Figures that a lawyer would end up with it.
  • Gotta place that beside the pallet of stadium events games in my back yard
  • Originally posted by: dra600n



    Yeesh, who would pay that much for dirt?



    But this is rare dirt that you can't get anywhere else...

     
  • Considering the $$$ people spend on art auctions. 4 mil for a bag of moon dust for a billionaire is a no brainer.
  • Really puts our type of finder's keepers in perspective.
  • What's even funnier is it's not even a bag of dust, it's the bag that held the bag of dust and as such has traces of moon dust on the interior.
  • Originally posted by: Daria



    What's even funnier is it's not even a bag of dust, it's the bag that held the bag of dust and as such has traces of moon dust on the interior.



    HAHAHA!!



    That is like owning the razor package to the razor that Elvis used to shave his beard, only it had some little tiny pieces of hair stuck on it.
  • Originally posted by: scaryice

    Originally posted by: dra600n



    Yeesh, who would pay that much for dirt?



    But this is rare dirt that you can't get anywhere else...

     



    yes you can. On the moon
  • We are all made from stardust we must be worth millions!
  • Originally posted by: Bert

     
    Originally posted by: scaryice

     
    Originally posted by: dra600n



    Yeesh, who would pay that much for dirt?



    But this is rare dirt that you can't get anywhere else...

     







    yes you can. On the moon



    Hahaha exactly!  

     
  • Whoever ends up shelling out $4 million would have to really like the moon.

  • How long before the moon dust repro market starts building steam?
  • I wonder what was the other bag that did not contain moon dust that they thought they were selling?
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