Location: France
Year Discovered: 1864
Est. Value: $1,000 per gram*
Metals may come to mind when you consider what might be found in a meteorite. Plant life and seeds, not so much. However, when a massive meteorite struck the planet in Southern France in 1864, that is precisely what happened. One of the oldest meteorites that was ever discovered, the Orgueil meteorite was assumed by scientists to predate the formation of our solar system.
Then, in 1962, French chemists found pollen and fungal spores on the Orgueil rock that had no business being there. Their findings were later confirmed by scientists from Fordham University.
The seeds were discovered inside the rock after it had been cracked apart. Unfortunately, everything came crumbling down when additional analyses were performed and it was found that a vandal from the 1800s had tampered with the meteorite in order to plant bogus conclusions.