One buyer for two dinosaurs in Paris
April 11, 2018
The skeletons of an Allosaurus and a Diplodocus went under the hammer in a "Natural History" auction at French auction house Druout in Paris on Wednesday afternoon.
Druout described the "exceptional" prices raised for the two skeletons, which each made more than €1.4 million ($1.7 million). Without naming the buyer, the house said the same foreign entity had acquired both dinosaurs.
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There were 87 natural artifacts for bidders to drop their pennies on, including snake skeletons, ammonites, starfish, shells, and a taxidermied crocodile.
"The fossil market is no longer just for scientists," said Iacopo Briano of Binoche et Giquello.
The Allosaurus, which is considered "small" at 3.8 meters (12.5 feet) long, was expected to fetch up to €650,000, while the Diplodocus had a guide price of €450,000 to €500,000, despite being 12 meters long from nose to tail.
Carnivores such as the Allosaurus often fetch more than herbivores.
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Another huge theropod skeleton is expected to fetch up to €1.5 million ($1.84 million) when it goes up for auction in June.
Hot competition
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"For the last two or three years the Chinese have become interested in paleontology and have been looking for big specimens of dinosaurs found on their soil, for their museums or even for individuals," Briano said.
New bidders have to compete against big multinational corporations as well as rich Europeans and Americans, who have been the "traditional" buyers in the past, Briano added.
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In 1997, McDonald's and Walt Disney contributed to a total of $8.36 million (€6.75 million) to buy the world's most complete and best preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex, named Sue, for the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Around five dinosaur skeletons go to auction around the world each year.