As the Tyrannosaurus rex once hunted its prey, so controversy now stalks the trade in its bones. Private collectors of scientifically important dinosaur fossils must tread carefully. Auction houses have recently achieved eye-popping prices, most spectacularly in 2020 with the $31.8 million sale of Stan, a 37-foot-tall T. rex that outperformed his Christie’s auction mates Picasso, Renoir, and Cézanne and smashed the previous $8.4 million record price for the sale of a fossil at auction, set in 1997 by Sue, a fellow T. rex from South Dakota. Skulls and artful skeletal arrangements are also popping up at art fairs, completing the makeover from dusty museum diorama to fashionable art installation.
“Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in interest,” says Iacopo Briano, a paleontology expert at Giquello auction house, which holds dinosaur sales at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. The appeal for private collectors is obvious: A T. rex makes for an awe-inspiring sculptural piece for that awkward-to-fill atrium. But the risks are high. Nicolas Cage reportedly was among the collectors of Tarbosaurus bataar who gave up their fossils after Mongolian paleontologist Bolortsetseg Minjin reminded authorities in 2012 that all Mongolian fossils are the property of that state—and all known T. bataars have been unearthed in Mongolia.
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When Robb Report spoke with Bolortsetseg in May, she was waiting to receive “about 20” illegally collected Mongolian dinosaurs, including the skull purportedly owned by Cage, from Homeland Security. The actor, she notes, most likely lost his money, and “the person who sold that dinosaur skull to him went to jail.” (That would be convicted smuggler Eric Prokopi.) Bolortsetseg advises collectors to avoid specimens labeled as originating from Mongolia or Central Asia and not to rely on the assurances of auction houses, which “want to make money.” Natural-history specialists from Sotheby’s and Christie’s declined to comment.
Michael Triebold, president of Triebold Paleontology Inc., a leading fossil excavator and dealer, recommends that collectors “do your due diligence, be skeptical, and find someone who can mentor you who has no vested interest in whether you make a purchase. Photographic and field-log records are always important. Provenance is vital.”
Fossil-export laws differ widely. In the United States and many European countries, specimens found on private land are the property of the landowner and can be sold or exported at will. China has had an export ban since 2004. Canada restricts trade even between provinces, says Peter Larson, president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, which excavated Stan and Sue.
Whether individuals should be allowed to sequester parts of what some consider to be our communal heritage is a live issue. The U.S.-based Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) regularly begs auction houses not to sell dinosaur bones, arguing that they should instead be “held in public trust.” Many privately owned fossils are in fact loaned or donated to museums: Stan will be the star attraction at Abu Dhabi’s natural-history museum, set to open in 2025, while the world’s largest triceratops—Big John, which sold for about $7.7 million in 2021 to health-care investor Sidd Pagidipati—is currently on loan to the Glazer Children’s Museum in Tampa, Fla.
Some paleontologists refuse to study privately owned dinosaurs, a position others regard as excessively purist. Larson, an SVP member, points out that “all the natural-history museums in the world were, almost entirely without exception, someone’s private collection.”
Pitfalls remain, even with perfect paperwork. As prices rise, so does the likelihood of litigation. How can you tell how much of that skeleton in the auction showroom is cretaceous and how much is 3-D printed? “If they say there’s no restoration, that’s possible but unlikely,” Larson says. “You can check restoration with ultraviolet light or X-ray.”
In November, Christie’s withdrew a T. rex scheduled for sale in Hong Kong after Larson identified it as being largely a replica of Stan. Prices have wobbled since. A T. rex skull that crossed the block at Sotheby’s in December with an estimate of $15 million to $20 million sold for just $6.1 million. Whether this blip will develop into a more serious loss of confidence remains to be seen. Until last year, price inflation has led to an increase in prospecting, which means that more recently unearthed fossils are likely headed to market.
Auction houses have more sales scheduled, including at Giquello, which will hold a Jurassic Park–themed event in October as well as an Ice Age–specimen sale in spring 2024. With prices having lost a bit of froth, now might be a good time to place a judicious bid.
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How did the 155-million-year-old dinosaur get to the mall? That might sound like the start of a joke, but it really happened. Since 2014, a Diplodocus skeleton has been on display in a shopping mall in Dubai, the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates, a country in Asia. The 80-foot-long fossil, found in Wyoming in 2008, ended up at the mall after being sold at an auction.
Dinosaur fossils are often sold at auctions, where whoever bids the most money wins. In October 2021, a collector paid $7.7 million for “Big John,” the largest Triceratops skeleton ever found. Last May, the remains of a Deinonychus nicknamed Hector sold for $12.4 million. And dinosaur eggs have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars each.
For some collectors, the chance to own a rare dinosaur fossil is worth the huge price tag. Many buyers display their prehistoric purchases in their offices or homes.
But some paleontologists say fossils should never be sold to private collectors. They argue that fossils belong in museums, where researchers can study them.
Should wealthy collectors be allowed to buy dinosaur fossils? Consider some pros and cons, then decide for yourself.