Experts calculate for this “unique and rare” specimen an estimated price of between 4.6 and 7.4 million euros
Over eleven meters long and nearly four and a half meters high, Trinity, the first Tyrannosaurus skeleton to be auctioned in Europe and the third worldwidewas presented this Wednesday in a concert hall in Zrich, where it will go on sale next April 18 for an estimated price of between 5 and 8 million dollars (between 4.6 and 7.4 million euros).
If these forecasts come true, the amount paid for this giant will be far from that reached by one of its two predecessors, Stan, who was sold for $31.8 million to a Dubai buyer by Christie’s in London. in 2020.
However, what no one doubts is the “unique and rare” nature of a fossil like this, 50.17% original and made up of the remains of three different Tyrannosaurus specimens that were unearthed between 2008 and 2013 in various excavations. Americans from the Rocky Mountains, in the states of Montana and Wyoming.
“Last year we had a call from an American individual who offered us this piece”, explained to EFE the CEO of the Koller auction house, Cyril Koller, who was very enthusiastic about being able to culminate many months of work in this way. “As soon as we heard about Trinity, we started our investigations to find out how original these remains were and what history was behind the dinosaurs that make it up,” he said.
Experts are still not entirely clear how the three t-rexes could have died, but they suspect that their deaths were not due to natural causes and believe that they could have drowned in several floods or perished after a bloody fight. The veteran family firm will put the remains up for sale along with other “extraordinary objects”, like the suit of a Soviet cosmonaut or a Martian meteorite.
Regarding who could bid for Trinity, Koller preferred not to give more details to the press out of discretion with the people who have shown interest in the dinosaur, but he assured that the buyer will probably be an individual.
“The fact that it is going to pass into private hands does not prevent the public from being able to see it. In fact, something similar happens with works of art, and on many occasions the people who own them agree to show them in museums or make them available for sale.” disposition of science,” he clarified.
A controversial auction
The previous sales of dinosaurs to the highest bidder were also controversial and alerted the scientific community, which described their high prices as “absurd” and warned of the danger of this type of practice for research.
Present today in the room , the Zuriqu archaeologist Hans-Jakob Siber acknowledged to EFE that “in an ideal world, culture would be free”, but regretted that the costs of the excavations and the subsequent assembly of the skeletons are impossible to assume for a industry “so underdeveloped” as paleontology.
In this sense, he admitted with a laugh that Tyrannosaurs are not only an undeniable source of fascination for all dinosaur fans, but also represent an economic incentive for museums that have some specimen in his collection.
“In my opinion, it is unlikely that an individual would buy Trinity and place it in their home, so that no one can enjoy its majesty,” said the expert, who warned those who may fall into this temptation that they “A fossil like this is not easy to keep in good condition.”
For the moment, the fantasies of great tycoons who treasure dinosaurs in their mansions remain fiction and the dreams of the little ones, who today ran with their mouths open through the sumptuous concert hall, while the piped music sounded. Melody composed by John Williams for the movie “Jurassic Park”
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