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Christie’s in New York recently sold one of the most complete specimens of a T-Rex fossil in the world for a record US $ 31.8 thousand (RM132 thousand), almost four times the previous highest price for a dinosaur at auction. .
The top predator minced Christie’s opening price between US $ 6,000 (RM25,000) and US $ 8,000 (RM33,000), showcasing the lasting power of the T-Rex.
He then shattered the previous record set by a specimen named Sue that was sold for US $ 8.4 million (RM35 thousand) in October 1997 by Sotheby’s to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Only about 50 fossils of Tyrannosaurus have been discovered since the first was unearthed in 1902.
Bids reached the US $ 9k mark (RM37k) in less than two minutes after the auction started, but after 14 minutes there were only three bidders left in the race, until the hammer fell on a bid of US $ 27.5k (RM114mil), to which costs and commissions were added.
The fossil, nicknamed Stan, is 4m tall and 12m long, with puncture marks on the skull and neck that experts believe show evidence of fights with fellow T-Rexes. Photo: AFP
The sale was arranged in New York, where the expert advisor was located, but with open lines to Hong Kong and London, where Christie’s specialists received calls from collectors.
The fossil, nicknamed Stan, is 4m tall and 12m long, with puncture marks on the skull and neck that experts believe show evidence of fights with fellow T-Rexes. It would have weighed around eight tons in life, about 67 million years ago.
The fossil was discovered in South Dakota in 1987 and was named after the amateur paleontologist who found the remains, Stan Sacrison.
Paleontologists at the Black Hills Geological Research Institute in South Dakota spent more than 30,000 hours excavating and then assembling the 188 skeleton bones.
Molds were then taken for dozens of museums around the world who wanted a copy of this rare specimen of tyrannosaurus, which experts believe was in its 20s when it died.
Ironically, the terms of the sale prevent the buyer from producing 3D models of the dinosaur.
By law, these specimens can only be sold if the fossil was discovered on private land, which in this case it was. – AFP Relaxnews
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