ambergris

[amberg]

OK, so it's not a traditional form of treasure. I'll give you that. But it turns out that this substance that starts out as either the vomit, spit, or poop of a whale ages quite well. After floating around the ocean for perhaps decades, it can wash up on shore as "ambergris".

Its primary use is in perfume of all things, and it sells for many thousands of dollars per pound. Here's an article about a boy that found roughly a pound of the stuff worth US $63,000.

What is Ambergris? Behind the $60k Whale-Waste Find

After hearing about this, I would now love to find a huge chunk of whale excretions. Unfortunately, every picture I see of this stuff looks completely different from every other picture, so I don't know how I would recognize it.

Have any of you ever found ambergris? How did you recognize it? Any tips about where to look? I'd love to hear some stories.

 

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[donkarlos]

Worth discussing...

 

[Bad Wolf]

I found what I thought might be ambergris on the beach in Carmel a few years ago. It was waxy and about the size of a basketball, and erring on the side of caution I lugged it home. After a little research, though, I determined it was some sort of plug that cruise ships often eject from their plumbing while at sea, and sure enough we had just had one of our infrequent cruise ship visits the week before. My friends had a good laugh at my expense, and I couldn't blame them...

 

[Beach Papa]

Sounds like the pearl of the perfume industry.....

 

[Detector Wars]

Many wonderful things come from a sperm wale:

 

[onthespot]

I have never heard of Ambergris. After reading this post, I Googled it and came across a book called "Floating Gold" on Amazon. Great read, I got the Kindle edition and could not put it down. I finished reading it same day I bought it. Okinawa has a long history of Ambergris found on the beach.

Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris: Christopher Kemp: Amazon.com: Kindle Store

 

[donkarlos]

Cool. I thought I read about it in Moby Dick. I thought it came from the brain of a sperm whale but I guess not.

 

[Jim in MA]

Could this be it
It is a little heavier than wax, partially transparent .
Found on wet sand.

 

[donkarlos]

Does it smell?

 

[Jim in MA]

NO oder at all

 

[onthespot]

Book I just read suggested you heat a needle until it's red hot, then insert it into the suspected Ambergris. It will leak a tar-like substance and smell "earthy" if it is indeed Ambergris.

 

[donkarlos]

Looks like a rock to me - I hear it has a sweet smell. Maybe contact the whaling museum in New Bedford or some Woods Hole scientist?

 

[Jim in MA]

A hot needle does melt its way into it with an oder.
It will burn, acts like hot glue but harder
It floats, with less buoyancy than ice.

 

[onthespot]

I suggest buying the book in my link and it will give you all the info you need. It has contact info for people that you can send it to and see if it is in fact Ambergris. It also has broker information.

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

 

[amberg]

This is getting exciting!

 

[onthespot]

Your second photo sure looks like the photo I've seen of it.

 

[amberg]

Ambergris is in the news again. This time a guy walking his dog on the beach in the UK found a 6lb chunk with an estimated value of £100,000 ($157,000 US). This article has a couple of pictures and a video.

Dog walker finds lump of whale vomit ambergris on beach that's worth £100,000 - Mirror Online

Jim, have you made any more progress identifying the material you found?

 

[Coastie59]

From what i've read, its illegal to pocess in the US, how could we sell it if we ever find it