Somebody has bought an almost complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton for over US$30 million. Lovingly nicknamed Stan, the rex was the star attraction in Christie’s Evening Sale of 20th Century Art on October 6, and that price makes it comfortably the highest amount ever paid for a dinosaur fossil.
Measuring some 40 ft (12 m) long and 13 ft (4 m) tall, and comprising 188 bones, Stan is one of the most complete T-rex skeletons ever found. As an added bit of authenticity, he still sports the battle scars of a life well lived, with a healed broken neck, and puncture marks on his rib, jaw and skull that appear to have been inflicted by other Tyrannosaurs.
With that much history behind the giant skeleton, it’s no surprise that the auction was fierce. Bidding started at US$3 million, and Stan was expected to sell for between $6 and $8 million. In the end though, the price soared much higher than that, fetching $27.5 million – or $31.8 million after buyer’s fees are included.
That makes Stan the standout champion for the record of highest amount ever paid for a dinosaur fossil. The previous record holder was another T-rex skeleton nicknamed Sue, which sold for $8.4 million back in 1997. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $13.4 million now.
While Stan has long been on display in the Black Hills Institute, his new home has yet to be revealed. Christie’s hasn’t disclosed the buyer’s identity, but we can only hope that he’s headed for a museum or somewhere else he can be visited by the general public.
If not, your last chance to see him may be at Christie’s Rockefeller Center in New York, where he’s currently on public display until October 21.
Source: Christie’s
