Virgin Mary Pebble Causes Online Bidding War

A Pebble found on a beach in New Zealand said to have an image of the Virgin Mary is causing a bidding war on a Kiwi auction site.

Bidding on the item has gone up to $20,000 dollars after the owner said she wouldn't take less that $50,000 for the 'genuine' pebble.

Lisa-Marie Corlet says she found the 1cm stone last year at a local beach but she didn't realise its significance until she got home, and friends told her to cash in on the rock.

She, however, decided to keep it as a "good-luck charm".

"I got it and I started having an awesome run of luck," she says.

But it didn't last, and she eventually decided to auction off the artifact. She says she will not accept less than $50,000, following the high price that a toasted cheese sandwich bearing a similar image fetched: "I won't take less than $50,000 for it. If someone is willing to pay $28,000 for a piece of toast, I'm sure someone out there would pay at least that for rock."

And adds, "its genuine and I will be contacting the university geology department in the very near future to have authenticity proved."

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