Whale vomit found on Anglesey beach sold for £11k at auction

An extremely rare piece of whale vomit has been sold for £11,000 at auction after an anonymous bidder from France bought the smelly chunk.

The chunk of ambergris was discovered by a dog walker on a beach in Anglesey, Wales, earlier this year.

The BBC reports that the 1.1kg whale vomit exceeded the estimated price of up to £7,000.

See also: Man who found 'whale vomit worth £100k' finds out it's worthless

Auctioneer Adam Partridge said he was "elated" at the sale.

"Somebody brought this smelly waxy rugby ball-shaped lump to us and asked us to sell it for them," he added.

"There are many things which can be mistaken for ambergris - fat, rubber and palm oil amongst others - but after doing some research and consulting the authorities on such things, we found out that what we had was indeed very valuable."

See also: Rare whale vomit found by schoolboy on beach could be worth 40k

Ambergris is found in the intestine of the sperm whale and is very rare. It is used as an ingredient by the perfume industry.

The Daily Post reports that the unnamed finder has not revealed which beach on Anglesey he found the whale vomit.

Oliver Hancock, who works at the auction house, said the lump had been in the see for about 50 years.

Related articles

Welsh man finds rare whale vomit 'worth thousands' on Anglesey beach

Walker finds rare whale vomit worth £100k on British beach