Meteorite that landed in German family's garden in Germany could net over $267,000

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) – Money doesn’t grow on trees, according to the English saying, but maybe from time to time it falls from the sky, as a meteorite that landed in a German garden could bring a lucky family some €250,000 ($267,300), local media reported Thursday.

The meteorite landed in the garden of Mahmut Sahin in Elmshorn, in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, on April 25.

According to Hamburger Abendblat daily, the meteorite dates back to some 4.5 billion years old – when the Earth was just forming – and is the largest ever found in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s northernmost state.

Sahin told daily Bild that he was initially offered up to €300,000 for his meteorite.

But experts now put the value of the meteorite at at least €400,000, the newspaper reported Thursday.

"I don't want the meteorite to disappear into some private vault. Everyone should be able to see it, because it is now part of Schleswig-Holstein's history," Mahmut, part of a Turkish migrant family, told Bild.

According to the newspaper, negotiations are currently underway with a Hamburg museum, which is willing to pay around €250,000.

The family man told Bild that he wants to invest part of the money and use the other part for a good cause.

Sahin is currently exhibiting the meteorite at the mineral fair in Munich.