Koller auction house director Cyril Koller gestures next to the skull of 'Trinity' prior to the sale of the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus-Rex (T-Rex) by Koller auction house in Zurich, on April 18, 2023. -8.7 million). (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP One of the most spectacular Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons in existence sold for millions of dollars Tuesday at a Switzerland auction.The well-preserved and brilliantly restored fossil fetched 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.18 million), including the "buyer’s premium" and fees, Koller Auctions’ marketing director, Karl Green, told FOX Weather.
It was first estimated to sell between 5 and 8 million Swiss francs."It went to a private European collector, and we do not know yet what they have in mind for showing it but will try to find out," Green said. "We hope it will be shown publicly somewhere."PREHISTORIC SABERTOOTH SKULL FOUND IN IOWA LIKELY LAST OF SPECIES TO WALK EARTH, RESEARCHERS SAYThe approximate 67-million-year-old skeleton, known as TRX-293 Trinity, consists of nearly 300 bones (50.17% original bone material) from three dinosaurs excavated between 2008 and 2013 from the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations in Montana and Wyoming, according to the auction house.
Both sites are known for two of the most important T. rex discoveries.Biders sit next to a picture of Trinity during the sale of the Tyrannosaurus-Rex (T-Rex) skeleton by Koller auction house in Zurich, on April 18, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) In 1997, ‘Sue’ sold at auction for $8.4 million to Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.