LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The first specimen of moonshine brought to Earth has been put up for auction, hoping to fetch between 800,000 and 12 1.2 million.
This lunar soil sample was collected by Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, when he first set foot on the moon. In this sense, it is also a historical specimen of the moon's soil.
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The Bonhams International Auction House claims that this is the only moonshine specimen that can be legally auctioned.
It should be noted that all the lunar soil samples that have been brought to Earth by American astronauts to date, are considered the property of the American state and the people, ie they can not be bought or sold or auctioned privately.
However, this pattern is different in that it disappeared a few years after it was brought to Earth in 1969 and reached a man named Max Erie through unknown hands.
He was also a co-founder of a private space museum but was arrested in 2002 on charges of buying and selling stolen artefacts. And all his belongings were taken into government custody.
When the items were officially auctioned in 2015, they included a sample of lunar clay that was bought by its current owner, Nancy Lee Carson, for just 995.
Nancy sent the sample to NASA to confirm whether it was genuine or counterfeit, and NASA refused to return the specimen, saying it was "owned by the American people."
Nancy sued NASA in court. The court ruled that Nancy had purchased the sample entirely legally, and "in good faith", so it was considered her personal property.
Due to its unusual properties, this sample of lunar soil is expected to be auctioned off at very high prices.
According to Bonhams, the auction of the clay specimen will begin on April 13, 2022, at 1:00 PM US time, with bids starting at 800,000.
