An Elderly Woman Used a One-Million-Euro Amber as a Doorstop in Her Romanian Home

For years, she used it as a simple doorstop in her home, unaware that the giant stone was actually a nugget of amber valued at over one million euros. The owner of this 'treasure' was an elderly Romanian woman from the village of Colti, about 150 kilometers north of Bucharest. Years ago, she found the stone by the river and decided to take it home to use as a doorstop. The poor lady passed away in 1991, two years after the fall of Ceaușescu's regime, never realizing that the nearly 3.5-kilogram piece was, in fact, a valuable gem. Years later, the rock caught the attention of a relative who inherited it and sold it to the state, which classified it as a national treasure. It is currently exhibited in the collection of the provincial amber museum in Buzau, a city-county in southeastern Romania known for its deposits of this semi-precious stone, particularly black amber, the most valuable type of this fossil resin.

The stone, estimated to be between 40 and 70 million years old, not only went unnoticed by the good lady but also by burglars who once broke into her home and stole her jewelry without noticing the large piece propping open one of the doors. In fact, according to local media reports that have covered the story, one of the thieves tripped over it, causing a chip to appear in the rock but did not bother to stop and examine what had caused his stumble.

Buzau, where the treasure is now displayed in its museum, is rich in black amber as well as golden and red amber. Some ambers still contain valuable fossilized remains of arachnids, reptiles, bird feathers, and animal hairs. And as we learned from the movie 'Jurassic Park' (1993), amber is an effective mechanism for preserving DNA because it dehydrates and stabilizes animals and plants trapped inside.

According to Romanian press reports, residents of Colti believe that pieces of amber found in their mountains bring good luck and keep them in their homes, just like the elderly Romanian woman did.

The amber from this village is considered some of the most valuable in the world due to its quality and color. The nugget of amber that the lady kept until her death is regarded as one of the largest ever found.