Skeleton or bare frame?
04/20/2023
The highest bidder at Koller Auctions paid CHF 5.59 million for a complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Quite a lot of money for a few bones, you might say. But for the most part, these are not just any bones. The auction catalog described the object as follows:
"This is a remarkably well restored original fossil. The 50.17% original bone material comes from three exceptional Tyrannosaurus specimens excavated between 2008 and 2013. All three specimens are of comparable size, quality and geologic origin and come from the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations in Montana and Wyoming. Both sites are known for two of the most important Tyrannosaurus finds."
The original bones date from the late Cretaceous period, so they are 65 to 67 million years old. The entire object measures 11.6 meters x 3.9 meters x 2.65 meters.
In comparison, the tubular frame of a Ferrari 250 GTO (pictured above) would be downright dainty, but even the tubular frame of a Lamborghini Countach would not be much larger.
How much one would pay today for an authentic original tubular frame of a Ferrari 250 GTO is probably a mystery, especially as all the original vehicles still exist. The situation would perhaps be different for a Countach, but this sports car was also built much more frequently. And even a complete car is more likely to be around one million than significantly more. In any case, higher sums are probably only paid for tubular frames if they come with "papers".
As the above description of the dinosaur skeleton shows, the bones come from several animals. This is not uncommon in the classic car world either, as many a pre-war Bugatti has parts from various vehicles and was only completed with reproduced parts, just like the TRex. So there are certainly parallels between the world of prehistoric bone finds and today's classic car scene.
What is also clear, however, is that if the dinosaur is to be shown as a whole, you need considerably more space than for a car, especially as you would hardly want to hide this skeleton in a garage. At least the dinosaur is delivered in nine wooden crates, so it doesn't have to be transported in one piece.
_RM.jpg)
