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The treasured moon rock at Rijksmuseum turns out to be just 50 euros worth

The treasured moon rock, which is exhibited at the Rijksmuseum, has turned out to be nothing but petrified wood. This rock which had been gifted to a former Dutch prime minister by a US envoy was a souvenir of a path breaking trip by three US astronauts on July 20, 1969.

“When we received it, we insured it for 100,000 florins or 50,000 euros in today’s money,” said Xandra van Gelder, the editor-in-chief of the museum’s internal magazine, about this exhibit which had been gifted to Willem Drees in 1969 by then US ambassador William Middendorf. But now, it has turned out that the rock is hardly worth 50 euros. This was confirmed by independent studies on the object, which is roughly the size of a matchbox.

“What is also strange is that in 1969, when Willem Drees was given this ‘rock,’ it was 11 years after he had stepped down as prime minister,” said Xandra.

The US space agency NASA has also gifted pieces of the alleged moon rock to several countries.