Someone Bought a T. Rex Skeleton for a Record-Breaking $31.8 Million (vice.com) 22
The remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex that lived some 67 million years ago have been sold at auction for $31.8 million, a world record for a fossilized dinosaur. From a report: The near-complete T. rex skeleton, named "Stan," now belongs to an anonymous buyer who secured the milestone bid at the "20th Century Evening Sale" held Tuesday at Christie's in New York. The hefty price tag dwarfs what the Field Museum in Chicago paid for its T. rex, named "Sue," which was procured for $8.4 million in 1997. Sue held the title of "most expensive dinosaur" for more than two decades -- until this week. Stan, also known as Lot 59, was expected to attract a price comparable to Sue, but the bidding war blew past the $6-8 million guide price within minutes and ended up at $27.5 million, with a few million more tacked on for commission fees and other costs. James Hyslop, head of Christie's science & natural history department, called the opportunity to buy Stan "a once-in-a-generation chance" in a statement.
"There simply aren't T. rexes like this coming to market," he said. "It's an incredibly rare event when a great one is found." Stan was discovered in 1987 by its namesake, amateur paleontologist Stan Sacrison, at Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota. For decades, the remains of the iconic T. rex have been on display at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City, South Dakota. The specimen was put on sale at the request of a 2018 court resolution between the museum shareholders, who are brothers. Measuring some 40 feet in length and 13 feet tall, Stan is among the most complete T. rex fossils in the world. The specimen contains 188 bones, representing about 70 percent of the full skeleton. Its skeletal features suggest that it was a male. Because of the dinosaur's exceptional condition, casts of Stan have ended up at dozens of museums around the world.
"There simply aren't T. rexes like this coming to market," he said. "It's an incredibly rare event when a great one is found." Stan was discovered in 1987 by its namesake, amateur paleontologist Stan Sacrison, at Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota. For decades, the remains of the iconic T. rex have been on display at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City, South Dakota. The specimen was put on sale at the request of a 2018 court resolution between the museum shareholders, who are brothers. Measuring some 40 feet in length and 13 feet tall, Stan is among the most complete T. rex fossils in the world. The specimen contains 188 bones, representing about 70 percent of the full skeleton. Its skeletal features suggest that it was a male. Because of the dinosaur's exceptional condition, casts of Stan have ended up at dozens of museums around the world.
Why buy an incomplete dinosaur skeleton? (Score:1)
If you're serious about collecting then you'll always buy complete, otherwise you'll have to buy the spare parts from other collectors and they'll charge you double because they know your alternative is buying a complete skeleton.
I know this from game collecting!
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Clive Palmer? (Score:2)
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Re: Clive Palmer? (Score:2)
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That's why they died. No eternal life without making the church, and the steeple, and open your hands...
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If they have the T-Rex, they can destroy the evidence :)
I would if I could (Score:2)
Headline Should Have Been (Score:3)
$1000 per adult ticket to see it at my dino park (Score:2)
$1000 per adult ticket to see it at my dino park
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What could possibly go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, (Score:3, Funny)
They also purchased some fossil amber containing dinosaur DNA, 500 frogs, and 100 alligators.
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Did he also hire an overweight I.T. guy for tech support?
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Which part? Guy or overweight?
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We need more fat women in IT to "round things out"
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Seems cheap (Score:3)
Oh no (Score:3)
Expect some more shitty Nic Cage movie as he struggles to come up with the cash to pay for the dino bones again.
Brain the size of a walnut (Score:1)
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