The Day of the Triceratops Sale has Dawned

By |2023-02-25T07:45:59+00:00April 16th, 2008|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Triceratops goes under the Hammer Today

When a hammer is associated with a dinosaur fossil it is normally a geological hammer used to help excavate the fossil from the surrounding rock (called the matrix).  However, as more and more fossils go up for sale, more dinosaur specimens are being associated with another sort of hammer, the auctioneer’s gavel.

Triceratops Sale

Today is the day of the auction of fossils and other prehistoric curiosities at Christie’s auction house in Paris.  The auction consists of about 150 lots; items for sale include a Sabre-toothed cat skull and rare dinosaur eggs, but the star attraction in this sale of natural history items is an almost complete skeleton of a three-horned dinosaur.

To read more about the Triceratops and other items in the auction: Triceratops for Sale.

This 70% complete specimen is expected to reach in excess of 500,000 euros, a number of prospective buyers have expressed an interest from the UK, France and further afield including the Gulf States.

Here’s hoping that whoever purchases this fine and rare fossil puts the specimen on public display so that the everyone who wants to see it can.  It would be great if the specimen could go to a museum or to a public body so that the fossil can still be viewed and equally importantly studied by scientists.  There is a lot that this fossil can tell us about the horned dinosaurs.

Horned Dinosaur for Sale

Unfortunately, the trend is for such items to end up in the private collections of very wealthy individuals, hidden away from the stare of the public and the scrutiny of palaeontologists.  It is difficult to set a precise value on such an unusual auction exhibit, perhaps bids will be in excess of 500,000 euros, if that is the case then this particular fossil is likely to be beyond the reach of most public bodies.

The weakness of GBP (sterling) against the euro has complicated matters for UK bidders.  When team members at Everything Dinosaur first reported this story last month, the 500,000 euro estimate meant that a British bidder could expect to part with £380,000.  Now due to currency fluctuations and the pound losing value against the euro if 500,000 euros is the asking price, a British buyer would be expected to part with over £400,000.

Never mind, it may be scant consolation but if you don’t happen to have half a million euros tucked away somewhere we can recommend a slighter more economical Triceratops purchase for you.  If you cannot afford your own Triceratops fossil why not purchase a Woodencraft replica of Triceratops?  This is unlikely to break the bank and you do get the chance to build your own Triceratops.

Dinosaur Toys and Gifts

This wooden craft model is one of a series of 11 prehistoric animals that can be constructed, there are all the famous dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Stegosaurus plus the pelycosaur Dimetrodon and the more unusual dinosaurs such as Carnotaurus – enough to start your own dinosaur museum!

To view craft items and other prehistoric themed merchandise at Everything Dinosaur’s website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.