Woman found 7 kilos of sperm whale vomit valued at $ 260,000: reasons why it is treasure

Woman in Thailand couldn’t believe her luck after to stumble upon nearly $ 260,000 in vomiting sperm whales near his beach house.

Her name is Siriporn Niamrin, 49, and on February 23, she was walking along the beach in Nakhon Si Thammarat province after a storm when she suddenly noticed a mass washed up on the shore.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the substance smelled like fish, so he dragged the mass away from the beach, believing that his find might be worth the money.

After asking neighbors for help in finding the oval shape, Siriporn was surprised to learn that the substance was whale vomit, called “ambergris”.

With 12 inches wide and 24 inches long and weighing around 7 pounds, the ambergris he found has an estimated value of $ 259,616.

To verify the authenticity of the ambergris, Siriporn and its neighbors brought a flame of fire to the mass, melting part of it and then hardening again after cooling. A home test that tracks the properties of the substance.

Siriporn is now waiting for experts to visit his home to confirm that the piece is genuine ambergris, the rare ingredient used in the perfume industry.

She said: “If I really have Genuine Ambergris, I can help my community once I find a buyer.”

“I feel lucky to have found such a beautiful piece. Hope this earns me some money. I keep it safe at home and have asked the city council to visit me to verify it ”, the woman added.

Ambergris is produced by sperm whales when the bile ducts of the gastrointestinal tract produce secretions to facilitate the passage of large or sharp objects. So, the whale vomits the mucilage which solidifies and floats on the surface of the ocean.

The solid mass has an unpleasant smell at first, But once the mucilage is dry, it develops a soft, long-lasting scent, making it a sought-after ingredient in the perfume industry.

This substance can be valued up to $ 53,000 per kilo. Or $ 53 per gram. To give us a clearer idea of ​​what this amount of money can mean, we can compare it to the price of gold: one gram equals $ 38, practically the same as one gram of cocaine in many areas. of the world.

In April 2016, a 1.5 kilogram ball of ambergris found in Lancashire sold for $ 69,602, while in November of the same year three Omani fishermen found 80 kilos of ambergris and sold it for $ 2.9 million.

With currents coming from the South China Sea, Nakhon Si Thammarat, where Siriporn found ambergris, has a history of whale vomiting on its shores.

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