The Swiss auction house Koller announces the auction Out of This World theme, which includes the complete skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rexand a martian meteorite of more than 2 kilos, one of the largest ever found. The auction will take place on April 18th in Zurich.
This type of auction scientific treasureswhich end in private handsIt always generates a bitter debate. have only been found 32 skeletons of Tyrannosaurus Rex in the world, explains Phys.com. They are a treasure of humanity, of the history of this planet, but some are in private hands, and are not even exposed.
Another argument against is that these private sales prevent scientists from continuing to investigatewho no longer have free access to the scientific legacies in private hands.
Trinity, the first T-Rex auctioned in Europe
In the case of tyrannosaurus rex, the issue is worrying because it is the third to be auctioned in just a few years, the first in Europe. Although it must be said that they are skeletons that they were already in private handsthat is, they change owners.
The first T-Rex to be auctioned was sue, which sold a few years ago for $8.4 million. But the “boom” exploded with Stanone of the Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons better preserved, for which 31.8 million dollars were paid in 2020.
Trinitythat Koller auction in Switzerland on April 18, it could break the record. It is a spectacular T-Rex skeleton complete with 11.6 meters long by 3.9 meters high, perfectly preserved. You can see it in the opening photo, and here:
What few people know is that the vast majority of complete skeletons They do not belong to a single copy.
Trinity Are actually, three different T-Rex found in Montana and Wyoming, between 2008 and 2013. It has about 67 million years old. It was in the hands of a private collector.
It goes up for auction at a price of about 8 million dollarsbut it is expected to surpass Stan’s record, as the conservation and restoration are exceptional.
In the same session, the highest bidder will also be offered Red Colossusa martian meteorite of 2,145 grams of weight:
It measures 16.6 x 11.5 x 9.3 centimeters, and is one of the meteorites from Mars largest ever found.
As with archaeological treasures, many scientific treasures they also go out to auction often. It is the case of Trinityone of the best preserved complete skeletons of tyrannosaurus rex that exist, and Red Colossusa huge martian meteorite of 2 kilos of weight.