Priced at over $1 million, a glass of Pink and White Terraces sand is up for auction on TradeMe.
'We are pretty comfortable that it is a legitimate auction,” says TradeMe spokesman Paul Ford.
'And we have been in touch with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage because there are a bunch of rules around protected New Zealand items.
'There are rules around a bunch of things that can't be taken out of the country, but they can be traded domestically.”
TradeMe has spoken to a couple of the bidders and they are comfortable with the auction, says Paul.
'It hasn't hit reserve so we will certainly be keeping a close eye on it.”
The bid this morning for the glass of sand is $1,000,300 and its reserve is not yet met.
The glass of pink sand is being sold by a Stratford seller. In answers to questions on the website, the vendor says the sand in the glass is from both the Pink and White Terraces and was collected before the 1886 Tarawera eruption which destroyed them.
John, the Stratford seller, says the glass of sand was passed on by his grandmother who was more than 100 years old when she died.
'This is not a vial of sand it is a very rare sample of one of the most famous natural wonders of the world. The auction is subject to authentification for any genuine bidder,” says John in reply to comments.
When asked if he really thinks ‘a vial of sand without even an authentication certificate is worth life changing sums of money', he replied '$1 million would not be life changing for him”.
'If this auction reaches the reserve price I will donate $100,000.00 towards future research of the Pink and White Terraces.
'I don't consider that price and worth mean the same thing. To me this article is bordering on priceless – to you it may be worthless.”
The glass of sand is found on TradeMe's Antiques and Collectibles section, under Museum Pieces and Artifacts. The auction closes Wednesday at 12.47pm.
See the TradeMe auction here.
The Pink and White Terraces came into the media spotlight last week when an underwater exploration found lower terraces of the Pink natural wonder.
Read more about this discovery here.
3 comments
What is anything worth?
Posted on 07-02-2011 12:58 | By morepork
This is a perfect example of the difference between intrinsic and perceived value. I wonder if the owner has been prompted to sell it now that the terraces have been rediscovered and there is the possibility of more samples becoming available? Maybe it isn't about money (as he claims) but we can be sure that something is "worth" whatever someone will pay for it. I love the story of the guy who paid $30,000 for a bottle of wine at a Christies auction in London, some time back, then dropped it on the pavement outside and lost the lot. There is a very Zen lesson there about "possession"...
Not the terraces
Posted on 07-02-2011 16:17 | By nightbeat
During the middle of the last century thousands of bottles of coloured sands from the Rotorua thermal region were sold in shops as souvenirs to tourists. Some were small while others, like the so-called Pink and White Terraces sample, were in larger bottles on wide bases for stability. These bigger pieces had the coloured sands artistically poured into landscape designs, however vigorous shaking could often diffuse the powdery sand resulting in exactly the effect that this million dollar jar is showing. Also, the terraces haven't been rediscovered because they were blown to kingdom come when Mt Tarawera erupted. Lake Rotomahana pre-eruption was only ten metres deep. It became the main explosion crater during the 1886 eruption, ejecting several cubic kilometres of mud, and afterward filled to a depth of of 100 metres in parts. Sadly, as usual, emotion will triumph over logic.
to nightbeat
Posted on 08-02-2011 14:09 | By morepork
So you don't believe that what has been found is actually a part of the original terraces? I guess time will tell.
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