Ambergris, AKA Whale Vomit, Worth $60,000 Discovered By English Boy: Why Is It Valuable?

Ambergris is hardened vomit from the intestines of sperm whales that is emptied into the ocean, according to CBS.

The whale vomit is valuable because ambergris is used to keep perfume scents going strong, the network reported.

Charlie Naysmith made the ambergris find while walking along Hengistbury Head, a stretch of sand that extends out to the English Channel near Bournemouth in southern England, the Daily Echo reported.

The 8-year-old's curious instincts proved helpful, as he took home the 600-gram ambergris. After his family did some online research, they discovered the whale vomit is worth roughly £40,000, or $63,356.

Charlie "is into nature and is really interested in it. We have discovered it is quite rare and are waiting for some more information from marine biology experts," said the boy's father, Alex Naysmith.

One pound of ambergris, also known as "floating gold," is worth roughly  £6,300, or about $10,000, according to the Daily Mail.

The piece of ambergris Charlie discovered was probably in the ocean for decades before it washed up CBS reported.

Treasure hunters shouldn't hope to find similarly valuable whale vomit on Hengistbury Head, the network said. Experts told CBS it's unlikely that another piece of ambergris will be discovered in southern England.

But another piece of ambergris was found in North Wales in 2008 that was more than 10 times as valuable as Charlie's discovered whale vomit.

Friends Sean Kane, 24, and Ian Foster, 39, found a 110-pound piece of ambergris in Criccieth, the Daily Mail reported.

"We just came across this white, like waxy lump. I said to Ian: "It looks a bit like whale sick," Kane told the tabloid. "He had never heard of anything like it."

Ambergris is found most often in the United States and Australia, according to the paper.