One of the most complete T-Rex fossils in the world has been sold for a record $31.8 million, nearly quadrupling the previous highest price for a dinosaur at auction.
The fossil nicknamed Stan made mincemeat of an opening price of between six and eight million dollars at Christie’s in New York Tuesday.
It shredded the previous record set by a fossil named Sue that was sold for $8.4 million in October 1997 by Sotheby’s to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Billed as the ‘king of the dinosaurs’ before the auction began, bids hit the $9 million mark in less than two minutes and by the 14 minute mark there were just three bidders left in the race.
One of the most complete T-Rex fossils in the world has been sold for a record $31.8 million in New York on Tuesday, nearly quadrupling the previous highest price for a dinosaur at auction
The hammer came down on an offer of $27.5 million from an unidentified bidder, to which were added costs and commissions.
The sale was organized in New York, where the expert assessor was located, but with lines open to Hong Kong and London, where Christie’s specialists were taking calls from collectors.
Stan stands 13ft (four meters) high and 40ft long, with puncture marks in the skull and neck that experts believe show evidence of fights with fellow T-Rexes.
He would have weighed in at around eight tons when alive, some 67 million years ago.
Speaking at the auction, Christie’s deputy chairman Richard Lloyd said: ‘I have to say, I was completely blown away by Stan.
‘I was not expecting to have such a visceral reaction when standing in front of him. Maybe I’ve just watched Jurassic Park one too many times.’
James Hyslop, head of Christie’s scientific instruments, globes and natural history department, took the final bid on Stan in New York.
He said: ‘There aren’t very many very good complete skeletons out there. Any natural history museum would consider him the crown of their collection.’
The skeleton shredded the previous record set by a fossil named Sue that was sold for $8.4 million in October 1997 by Sotheby’s to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago
Casts were then taken for dozens of museums around the world that wanted a copy of this exceptional specimen of Tyrannosaur, which experts believe was around 20 years old when it died
The fossil was discovered in South Dakota in 1987 and named after the amateur paleontologist who came across the remains, Stan Sacrison.
Hyslop said: ‘[Sacrison] showed it to scientists at the time who unfortunately misidentified it as a triceratops.’
Paleontologists from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota spent more than 30,000 hours excavating and then assembling the 188 bones of the skeleton.
Researchers there ‘realized pretty quickly that they had something special in their hands,’ said Hyslop.
Christie’s live streamed the auction as one of many changes it had to make due to the coronavirus pandemic
James Hyslop (pictured), head of Christie’s scientific instruments, globes and natural history department, took the final bid on Stan in New York
Casts were then taken for dozens of museums around the world that wanted a copy of this exceptional specimen of Tyrannosaur, which experts believe was around 20 years old when it died.
Ironically, the terms of the sale prevent the buyer from producing 3D models of the dinosaur.
By law, such specimens can only be sold if the fossil was discovered on private land, which in this case it was.
Only around 50 Tyrannosaurus fossils have been discovered since the first was unearthed in 1902.
The fossil was discovered in South Dakota in 1987 and named after the amateur paleontologist who came across the remains, Stan Sacrison
Stan is approximately 67 million years old. His head was on display at the Christie’s flagship store before the auction, and his full skeleton will remain on show until October 21
Christie’s live streamed the auction as one of many changes it had to make due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It also featured the dinosaur along with artworks by Picasso, Pollock and Monet and held the auction in October rather than November, breaking with tradition.
Christie’s chairman of global private sales Adrien Meyer told the New York Times: ‘These are not temporary changes.
‘When we go beyond our traditional values, it’s because there is a feeling that clients will respond.’
Stan will remain in Christie’s flaghouse store overlooking the Rockefeller centre until October 21.