Posted on 07/20/2026 3:42:04 AM PDT by DFG
A giant Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton sold for $50.1 million at an auction in New York on Tuesday, marking a new record price for a dinosaur fossil.
The T. rex, nicknamed Gus, is a towering figure, standing at 12.5 feet fall and roughly 38 feet long, according to Sotheby's, the auction house that hosted the historic bid. Composed of 183 different bones, in addition to dozens of rare rib specimens that aren't included in technical bone counts, the assembled fossil is among the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons ever discovered, the auction house said.
Gus was auctioned off as a fully mounted structure, ready to be placed in an exhibit. The last time such an intact dinosaur skeleton sold for such a comparably high price was two years ago, almost to the date, when Sotheby's auctioned off the mounted bones of a stegosaurus called Apex for nearly $45 million. It was a record sale at the time, which significantly exceeded the estimated price range of $4 to $6 million.
Sotheby's had predicted that Gus would sell for $20 or $30 million, according to its website. But, after only a 10-minute bidding window, the skeleton became "the most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction," the auction house said. Just seven bidders participated in the auction.
Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's vice chair, said in a statement that the auction's outcome "has been years in the making," crediting Thomas Heitkamp, who led the excavation to uncover the T. rex remnants alongside a team in Harding County, South Dakota. The colossal dinosaur skeleton is named after the late cattle rancher Gary "Gus" Licking, who owned the land on which Heitkamp initially found the fossils.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
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I was an Ally Oop fan. “Hi Oh, Dinosower”. LOL
Well Bang A Gong
I bought it.
It arrived a few days ago in a bunch of boxes, turns out I had to put it together myself.
Dang dog buried a few of the bones somewhere. This is going to take awhile.
Well Bang A Gong
***************
Its hanging gong may be dragging
the ground before much longer......
Gong With The Luminous Nose - Fleur De Lys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpgpFcE5aJk
From the article:
“Of them, just two, before Gus, proved to be at least 60% complete. The first, called Sue, is now on display at the Chicago Field Museum, while the second, called Stan, is at the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi, the auction house said.”
I would hope a guy like Elon, Bezos or some other BILLIONAIRE would buy some of these “items” and then donate them to the Smithsonian or the Museum of Natural History or some other major US MUSEUM.
Thanks.....
Your reasoning seems correct
OK inquiring minds want to know (or maybe just me)
Is DFG your initials or...
Destined for Greatness
Digging for Gold
Don’t forget God
Other? Please define DFG please (it’s not helping my ADHD).
“Dang dog buried a few of the bones somewhere. “
Great idea!! After he buries enough bones you can dig them up and get funded for a new archaeological dig grant from the feds. Grant amounts for archaeological digs vary drastically depending on the scale and scope of the project. Major research grants (like those from the National Science Foundation) can average $144,000, while smaller exploratory or project-specific grants typically range from $2,500 to $15,000. And many grants like this are non-taxable if they are considered research coverage. And what tax you pay can be recouped with the sale of the bones you dug up. Return of Piltdown man.
wy69
Must have been somebody with the 50 million that couldn’t figure out a better way to spend it. I think I could have done better with the same money.
Muhammad bin Salman, de facto king of Saudi Arabia, paid $450 million USD for 'Salvator Mundi,' well more than it was expected to bring, and despite it can't be 100% authenticated as a work of Leonardo da Vinci, because what he was buying besides the painting was the cachet of having the most expensive work of art ever sold. And he went so over the top with the bidding that it's likely to hold that distinction for some time to come.
And at the moment, they don't care how much they spend because money to them is something that jumps up from the ground and falls into their pockets. But they're investing now in means to keep their people placated when the oil runs out.
'Salvator Mundi' will eventually become the marquee attraction of a museum in Saudi Arabia which AFAIK they haven't yet broken ground on. 'Gus' might have the same fate in store.
My Mom jokes that DFG stands for Department of Fish and Game.
Woolly Mammoth
Woolly Mammoth
Here it comes!
Here it comes!
Watch it now!
Watch it now!
🎵🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵
😆
IKEAsaurus.
😆
Actually, the T Rex is being procured for free if purchased by one of the Gulf countries.
The US$ consideration for the purchase contract is the electronic banking ledger entry representing say 700,000 barrels of crude.
In say Saudi Arabia or the UAE, the 700,000 barrels of crude are in practical effect, free.
The T Rex fossils are in effect being bartered at no cost to the purchaser. They have merely traded one asset for another.
BTW..... The Future is East Of Suez.
FTA: the skeleton became “the most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction
Imagine how much it would have made if it was alive...!
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