Many auctions are held to sell dinosaur bones in which millions of dollars are paid, which raises the question: Why do people pay their money to buy these ancient skeletons?
People are divided between those who see the matter as an extravagance, and those who see it as a wonderful investment field, especially since it is limited to a specific group, because it requires many conditions, including huge funds and the availability of large space, in addition to the difficulty of stealing it due to its large size.
32 million dollars
The Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi paid $32 million at Christie’s 2020 auction to buy the fossil of the most expensive dinosaur in the world, and it belongs to a 67-million-year-old “Tyrannosaurus Stan” dinosaur.
The museum, which will open in 2025, has many resources to accommodate the fossil, which is about 12 meters long and 4 meters high, consisting of 188 bones, and was found in South Dakota in 1987.
Most of the 50 skeletons belonging to T. rex » and has been found since 1902, in natural history museums.
complete structure
For the first time in Europe and the third globally, the Kohler Auction House in Switzerland sold a complete T-Rex skeleton of exceptional quality at auction on Tuesday, April 18, for 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.13 million), but the price was lower than expected.
The TRX-293 Trinity skeleton is 3.9 meters high and 11.6 meters long, and it is composed of 293 bones from 3 Tyrannosaurus rex found between 2008 and 2023 in the US states of Montana and Wyoming.
An unnamed buyer bid the winning price of 4.8 million Swiss francs, lower than the estimate of between 5 and 8 million Swiss francs, but after adding the buyer’s premium and Kohler’s fees, the total price rose to 5.5 million Swiss francs.
In 2021, researchers announced the first census of the number of “T” dinosaurs. rex,” and said that 2.5 billion dinosaurs inhabited western North America over the past 2.4 million years.
Dinosaur mania
Christie’s is not the only auction through which expensive dinosaur bones can be purchased. The list includes the “Sotheby’s” auction house and the “Drouet” auction house in Paris. However, two auctions late last year caused concern, with Christie’s announcing the cancellation of the controversial sale of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in Hong Kong amid doubts about the authenticity of the fossil.
Then, those responsible for this field were disappointed after the sale of a complete skeleton of Gorgosaurus, a type of dinosaur from the “T. Rex »at about $ 6.1 million, at a price much lower than the price of Tyrannosaurus Rex, which was sold for $ 31.8 million in 2020 at an auction in New York.
14 halls
Bonhams, which now owns 14 galleries worldwide, is trying to make its way into the natural history market, as its auctions took in more than $1 billion for the first time last year, up 27 percent from the previous year. Nearly $4 million came from 11 history auctions. natural where 3 of them included fossils.
The fossils market is witnessing a great momentum and a significant rise in prices during the past three to five years due to the increase in public interest and thus the increase in demand, but the next year or two may witness stability in the level of sale, especially in the event of a slowdown or economic recession.
And to prove how the prices of fossils have risen, we recall that a cave bear skull sold in New York was sold for $ 4,750 in 2012, while a similar skull was sold in 2022 for more than 26,000 in Paris.
One tooth belonging to a dinosaur from the T family was sold. Rex” for more than $11,000 in 2013, but 9 years later a similar tooth was selling for nearly twice that amount.
Excavations for investment
Experts believe that there are guidelines to keep in mind when investing in fossils, whether large or small.
Experts say that the origins of these fossils must be researched because not all fossils are rare, and there are many fake fossils, while experts advise diversity in buying fossils with the preference to buy things that have a proven record and documentation regarding the owner.
Experts point out that, however, this is not a guarantee of success in the future, but that carries with it some guidelines.
With regard to important fossils, the right of reproduction must be obtained because possession of fossils does not mean possession of the right to reproduce, although the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi has purchased the fossil of the most expensive dinosaur in the world, but any cloning operations belong to the Black Hills Geological Research Institute.