Auction Highlights Significant Mars Meteorite Sale
A prominent Mars meteorite fetched over $5 million at a New York auction specializing in rare geological and archaeological items. Meanwhile, a juvenile dinosaur skeleton drew an astounding price tag of over $30 million.
This particular piece of Martian rock, known as NWA 16788, weighs 54 pounds (or 25 kilograms) and was unearthed in Niger’s Sahara desert in November 2023 by Meteorite Hunters. Initially, the estimated selling price was set between $2 million and $4 million before the auction began.
The identity of the buyer remains undisclosed for now. They placed the final bid at $4.3 million, which, when accounting for various fees and costs, brought the total closer to around $5.3 million.
Two advance bids had already been submitted—$1.9 million and $2 million. It seemed that live bidding progressed more slowly compared to other items at the event. The auctioneers even adjusted the bidding intervals from between $200,000 and $300,000 to $100,000 once the proposal hit $4 million.
The meteorite showcases a mix of red, brown, and gray tones and is about 70% larger than the next biggest Mars meteorite found on Earth. According to Sotheby’s, it accounts for almost 7% of all Martian material currently preserved on our planet. It measures roughly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 mm x 279 mm x 152 mm).
Such finds are indeed rare. Out of over 77,000 officially recognized meteorites discovered on Earth, only around 400 are from Mars.
“This Martian meteorite is the largest one we’ve encountered by a significant margin,” said Cassandra Hutton, vice-president of science and natural history at Sotheby’s, in a pre-auction chat. “It’s more than double the size of what we previously believed to be the largest piece from Mars.”
While the exact timeline of how these meteorites broke from Martian soil isn’t completely clear, it’s likely they were ejected in recent years, according to Sotheby’s.
Hatton mentioned that a specialized laboratory examined remaining sections of the Martian rock, confirming its origin by comparing its chemical makeup to those identified during the Viking space probe’s explorations in 1976.
The analysis determined the rock was “Olivin Mycolo Gwab Block Shellgottit,” a Martian variety resulting from the slow cooling of Martian magma. As described by Sotheby’s, it features a coarse, textured grain interspersed with pyroxene and olivine minerals.
The surface of the meteorite is glassy, shaped by the intense heat it endured while descending through the Earth’s atmosphere. “That was the first clue; it’s clearly not just any ordinary rock,” Hatton remarked.
Previous exhibitions of these meteorites took place at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. However, Sotheby’s has chosen not to reveal the buyer’s identity at this time.
Regarding the dinosaur skeleton, bidding commenced at a hefty $6 million, ultimately leading to a closing bid of $30 million. This was well above the original estimate of $4 million to $6 million. The fossil was unearthed in 1996 at the Bone Cabin Quarry near Laramie, Wyoming, and stands over 6 feet tall, approximately 3 meters in height.
Experts are preparing to reconstruct and present around 140 fossil bones along with some carved materials to complete the skeleton, as noted by Sotheby’s.
This Ceratosaurus, which dates back to the late Jurassic period around 150 million years ago, is notable for its short arms that evoke the Tyrannosaurus Rex, albeit on a smaller scale. While Ceratosaurus can reach 25 feet (7.6 meters), T. Rex can grow to about 40 feet (12 meters).
The skeleton was obtained last year by Fossilogic, a fossil preparation firm based in Utah.
This auction was part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025, showcasing 122 items, including further meteorites, fossils, and mineral specimens.
