A unique auction in the US. A record amount was spent on… bones
How much can a pile of bones cost? It turns out that in this particular case, which is a stegosaurus skeleton, we are talking about millions of dollars. What’s more, it is the highest amount in the history of selling such objects.
A record has just been set at a Sotheby’s auction in New York – $44.6 million – the most ever paid for a fossil, the BBC reports. The previous record was held by a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton (nicknamed Stan) for $31.8 million. What does the new leader look like?
The king is dead, long live the stegosaurus!
The bones sold belong to a stegosaurus that is 3.4 meters tall and over 8 meters long from nose to tail. The skeleton itself is very complete. It was accidentally discovered by a paleontologist in 2022 in Colorado. Funnily enough, it was found near the town of Dinosaur.
According to the BBC, citing information provided by the auction house, the fossil exceeded its pre-sale estimate by more than 11 times, and after 15 minutes of bidding it drew “applause”. There were seven bidders for the fossil discovered by Jason Cooper. The winner wished to remain anonymous, but it was suggested that the object should remain in the US.