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T-Rex named 'Sue' auctioned for $8.4 million
October 4, 1997
Web posted at: 3:17 p.m. EDT (1917 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) -- The nearly perfect skeleton of a 65-million-year-old dinosaur named "Sue" fetched a staggering $8.36 million at an unprecedented auction at Sotheby's on Saturday.
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago purchased the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and expected to begin displaying it in 2000. A consortium of buyers put together the winning bid. The purchase price included a 10 percent commission to Sotheby's.
"This dinosaur is a world treasure ... We have never sold anything of this importance, and nobody else has, " said David Redden, executive vice president of Sotheby's.
While most T-Rex skeletons are only about 40 percent to 50 percent complete, 50-foot-long Sue is a virtually whole specimen. It fetched the unexpected sum within minutes of bidding, which started at $500,000. Sotheby's had estimated that the fossil would sell for about $1 million.
The consortium included the Field Museum, McDonald's Ronald McDonald House Charities, Walt Disney World Resorts, the California State University system and individuals.
Both McDonald's and Walt Disney World Resorts will get replicas of the original for display in Florida and for a tour of the country.
"Sue" has a tooth fragment from a rival T-Rex embedded in a rib, and a gouge on the side of her skull, a wound that may have caused her death. Her lower left jaw is crushed, and she suffered a broken leg. One toe claw weighs 2 pounds.
The middle-age female T-Rex was discovered in 1990 by Sue Hendrickson, who was walking on a Cheyenne River Reservation ranch in South Dakota, owned by Maurice Williams. It arrived in New York last October, packed in 130 crates and boxes.
Sue became a celebrity in the midst of a battle over who actually owns the precious skeleton. Once it was decided that Sue would be put on the auction block, there were fears that the precious piece of science could disappear from public view by ending up in a private collection.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Fossilized dinosaur embryo hailed as gigantic find - September 12, 1997
- Fossils of fearsome dinosaur discovered - May 17, 1996
Related sites:
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- The Field Museum of Natural History
- Tyrannosaurus - American Museum of Natural History
- Sotheby's - Sue: the Tyrannosaurus Rex
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