"There's only so many Tauruses you can sell without doing something to a few of them, " says David Emerson, Adesa Indianapolis' auction manager.

FORBES: On the Block

About half a dozen people are expected to bid by phone, and at least five people have said they'll travel to the auction house to place bids, said Troy Thibodeau, manager and auctioneer at Saco River Auction.

WSJ: Rare 1865 baseball card to be auctioned in Maine

She added two more last year at an estate auction of a failed hedge fund manager.

FORBES: Life

The origin of the blue-chip meteorite market was a 1995 natural history auction at Phillips in New York, for which an entertainment manager named Darryl Pitt selected some 15 meteorites from his personal collection and photographed them as if they were masterpieces of modern art.

FORBES: Hot Rocks