In 1972, a 1.142-gram rock from a lunar valley was returned on Apollo 17 and presented as a gift to the Honduran government.

Some time later it "officially" disappeared and wound up in the hands of Alan Rosen, who intended to sell it on the open market for $5-million.

Alas, Rosen was dismayed when, in 1998, Washington seized the encased, fingertip-sized rock and sought a court order to have it returned to its former owners in Honduras.

Oddly, Rosen was not named as a defandant in the suit; technically the rock was. The suit's official title? "United States v. Lucite ball containing lunar material"!