Triceratops to go on auction

[ITdactyl]

The fossil of "Big John" the Triceratops will go under the [auction] hammer in Paris.

https://youtu.be/uq-S1GjLanY

This practice seems to be getting more common, though even the auction heads admit there are fewer buyers (worldwide) of dinosaur fossils than there are for art pieces.

I know Triceratops is old news for ceratopsian fans, but to have the biggest (yet found) be in a private collection seems such a waste. I hope it gets loaned at least to a museum.

[Faelrin]

Yeah it's unfortunate this is done in the first place. Really hope this ends up in a museum and not a private collector like what happened with "Stan", but I won't get my hopes up.

[Crackington]

Just read about this in the UK Guardian and whole heartedly agree with @ITdactyl and @Faelrin that it's a shame about it being auctioned:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/01/big-john-largest-known-triceratops-skeleton-goes-on-display-before-auction

Hope a museum "wins" the auction, it's a magnificent specimen!

There's a real howler in the article by the way about Allosaurus being T'Rex's  "grandfather". The Guardian's usually a bit better with its facts, but I guess they're not immune to hype, ho hum....

[Dynomikegojira]

I'm really starting to dislike private collectors that selfishly keeps these specimens of of science's hands.

[ITdactyl]

The question is, would a museum actually dedicate a sizeable chunk of its funds for a single dinosaur when it would (probably) have several internal departments competing for said funds.

I'm thinking these auctions are just really for the obscenely rich. We can just hope the winner feels benevolent enough to donate or even just loan the dinosaur to a museum instead of keeping it in their homes.

[acro-man]

Hopefully, they already got every detail 3D-scanned and ultrasonic scanned.

[Psittacoraptor]

Is it really the largest individual fossil of the species? If so, this really should go to a museum instead of a private collector.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Awful news, saw it shared a few times. Sadly some people, the same people who suck up to billionaires I think, seem to think it's okay. Have to avoid comments pages.
I don't think it likely that a museum will be able to win this, just have to hope it's not someone too selfish, but even that is wishful thinking.

[SidB]

Awful news, saw it shared a few times. Sadly some people, the same people who suck up to billionaires I think, seem to think it's okay. Have to avoid comments pages.
I don't think it likely that a museum will be able to win this, just have to hope it's not someone too selfish, but even that is wishful thinking.

The 1% (or .1%) will always have their willing minions. T'was always thus, sadly enough.

[ITdactyl]

News bits for those who don't want to sift through the reports:

- Fossil was discovered in 2014 in South Dakota (excavation was completed in 2015) and was restored in Trieste, Italy. The skull is 2m wide, and the skeleton is 8m long.

- The fossil has an export license, so bids are open to foreign buyers.

- Auctioneer hopes to match the success of the auction for "Stan" the Tyrannosaurus. The estimated sale price for "Stan" was 6-8 million USD, but the winning bid was $31.8 million.  The estimated sale price for "Big John" is 1.2 million Euros (1.4 million$ - easier to top).

- Potential buyers have exceeded those for the auction house' previous dinosaur offerings. The auctioneer notes that usually the buyers do not express their interest until the day of the auction.

- All dinosaurs auctioned in the same establishement in 2020 failed to meet minimum bids and were not sold off.

- Auction will be held on the 21st of October.

[Crackington]

Maybe we should all club together and put in a bid - I'll donate a couple of pounds 😉

If we win, we could send it on a world tour to members' homes!

[Stegotyranno420]

@Crackington Then I call dibs on first home!

[ITdactyl]

 

Goodluck to our fanciful effort of pooling 1.2million++ Euros.

[Bread]

Maybe we should all club together and put in a bid - I'll donate a couple of pounds 😉

If we win, we could send it on a world tour to members' homes!

A few of us just have to sell a kidney and then boom we got it!

Edit: Also jokes a side, I am late to this thread, but I am sad to hear and read about another specimen possibly heading to a private buyer.

[ITdactyl]

My assumption has been proven wrong.  Apparently an  Australian museum acquired an 87% complete Triceratops skeleton for 3 million USD.  So there is a possibility a museum might bid on "Big John", considering the estimated bid will reach 1.4 million USD.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/dec/02/melbourne-museum-acquires-worlds-most-complete-triceratops-skeleton-in-immense-dinosaur-deal

"Big John" might be going under the auction hammer, but on a more positive note another large Triceratops (nicknamed "Shady") is in the process of being excavated in South Dakota - this time by Paleontologists and their students.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/undergraduates-unearth-massive-triceratops-skull-180975653/
https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/local-girl-helps-excavate-dinosaur-fossils-with-westminster-team/article_9712c92c-ea4c-11eb-a86e-efe6e3953fc0.html

The skull was extracted and sent to the lab last year while the rest of the skeleton is being excavated in this year's summer dig.
Maybe big sales and auctions will be part of the story of some fossils moving forward - but it's good to know the traditional and ethical practices are still in place.