How an elderly woman used amber nugget worth over $1,000,000 as a doorstop for decades
We all like to think we have hidden treasures lying around the house that will one day be worth a fortune.
But not a lot could compare to what was found in an elderly woman's home in southeast Romania.
Decades ago, an unnamed woman found a large stone on a stream bed and took it home.
Little did she know that the 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) stone was actually an amber nugget.
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Amber is a tree resin that has fossilized over millions of years. Due to its relative rarity - only about 100 kg (220 lbs) is found each year - amber can be extremely valuable.
It originates mainly from around the shores of the Baltic Sea in the likes of Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Poland, Sweden, Germany and Denmark.
Pieces of the precious stone can also be found around the Romanian village of Colti, embedded in sandstone from the banks of the River Buzau.
A form of amber known as rumanite has been mined there since the 1920s - desired by many for its deep red color.
But, the elderly women didn't realise how precious the stone she'd picked up from the river bed was so she proceeded to use it as a doorstop for years.
And she wasn't the only one to overlook its potential value.
Members of her family reported that she was once the victim of a break-in. Thieves got away with a few pieces of gold jewelry, but the amber nugget was completely ignored.
"In their frantic search for valuables, they overlooked the real treasure that was there before their eyes," they told El Pais.
It wasn't until she died in 1991 that a relative who'd inherited her home noticed the stone and wondered whether it could be worth something.
They then sold the massive chunk of amber to the Romanian state who had it appraised by experts at the Museum of History in Krakow, Poland.
And it turns out the doorstop was worth a pretty penny - around $1 million in fact.
According to experts, the amber is between 38 and 70 million years old and it currently stands as the world's biggest intact piece of the gemstone.
It has since be classified as a national treasure and is held in the Provincial Museum of Buzau.
Daniel Costache, director of the museum, told El Pais: "Its discovery represents a great significance both at a scientific level and at a museum level."