‘Floating gold’ worth thousands is being found washed up on America’s beaches. Here’s what to look out for… but beware its disgusting origins
Kristen Marvin was walking along Melbourne Beach in Florida looking for turtles when something altogether different stopped her in her tracks.
It was a white and gold object nestled in the sand.
‘We get a fair amount of melted plastic washing up on our beaches, so naturally I picked it up,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘The moment I did, I knew it wasn’t plastic. And it definitely wasn’t a rock. It was surprisingly lightweight and had this very distinctive waxy feel.’
It was at that point that it struck her. Perhaps this was ambergris, the little-known and ultra-rare substance cherished by perfumers. ‘So, naturally, I smelled it,’ she said.
Ambergris, which is also referred to as ‘floating gold,’ is a waste product discharged from the body of a sperm whale through defecation or vomiting. It is believed to help with digestion, creating a barrier between the whale’s intestines and the hard beaks of squid, the creature’s primary food source.
The substance can be worth up to $10,000 per ounce. It takes decades of floating in the ocean for it to gain the coveted scent that means it was once used as an ingredient in Chanel No 5.
The earthy smell is still very much sought after, but due to its rarity most modern perfumes, including Creed’s Aventus cologne, now rely on synthetic versions.
Kristen Marvin was stunned to find a large chunk of ‘floating gold’ on Melbourne Beach, Florida
She initially thought the object might be a piece of melted plastic before realizing it was something much more valuable
Ambergris, which is sought after by perfumers, was once used in Chanel No 5. Creed’s Aventus fragrance uses a synthetic version of the scent
Marvin took the waxy substance home. There she discovered that, unlike a rock, it floated. She also tested it by poking a hot needle into it. White smoke puffed up, indicating to her that it was indeed ambergris.
Since her initial discovery in 2024, she has struck lucky twice more. Once later that year and again just a few weeks ago.
It is technically illegal for Marvin to possess the chunks of ambergris. US sperm whale byproducts are protected under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Marvin has subsequently found two more pieces of the precious substance on the Florida coast
‘You may not collect, keep, or sell ambergris because it is a part from an endangered marine mammal,’ according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The global sperm whale population is estimated to have fallen from 1.1million to 300,000, partly as a result of whaling, according to Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is believed that only a small percentage of sperm whales produce ambergris, which is one of the reasons it is so rare.
After making each of her finds, Marvin contacted NOAA. She eventually turned one piece over to a local whale conservation organization, which has been in contact with federal authorities, she said.
Jamie E Wright, an LA-based lawyer, told the Daily Mail: ‘It is confusing to think something naturally expelled from an animal is illegal.
‘However, many laws govern wildlife and how you can hunt them, collect them, and carry restrictions on specific parts of animals.’
Marvin tested the ambergris at home by heating a needle and sticking it in to see if it produced white smoke
In 2012, Charlie Naysmith, an eight-year-old boy from Bournemouth, England, found a lump that was thought to be worth up to £40,000 ($64,000 at the time)
‘These laws make it harder for markets to sell animal by-products or kill those needing extra protection, much like ambergris.’
The law gives a strong incentive for less honest people who find ambergris in the US not to publicize their finds, meaning the substance may be more prevalent here than is widely understood.
In countries such as the UK and Canada it is legal to sell ambergris. In 2012, Charlie Naysmith, an eight-year-old boy from Bournemouth, England, found a lump that was thought to be worth up to £40,000 ($64,000 at the time), according to a report by the BBC.
Back in Florida, Marvin, who runs the nonprofit Turtley Yours Foundation, still has two of the chunks. She keeps them tucked in a cabinet in case federal authorities one day require her to hand them over.
She hopes to one day use the pieces in a workshop for children. ‘Being able to actually see and smell something as rare and unusual as ambergris, rather than simply looking at a photograph, could be an incredible way to capture their attention,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘I think there’s something particularly powerful about holding something so rare that came from a sperm whale. It makes you realize that its greatest value isn’t measured in dollars, but rather in the story it can tell.’
