Pre-sale estimates were blown to bits by the final auction price of ‘Apex’, the most complete and best preserved Stegosaurus fossil of its size ever discovered. Sotheby’s New York Auction House announced Wednesday that while it was originally estimated that Apex would bring between $4 million and $6 million dollars at auction, the final sale price was over 7 times that at $44.6 million dollars. The identity of the proud new owner was not shared but Sotheby’s did share that the anonymous buyer is American and beat out 6 competing bidders. Apex originates from the Morrison Formation in Moffat County, Colorado. Mounted, the skeleton is approximately 11.5 feet tall, 27 feet long and 6 feet wide. Wednesday’s high dollar sale will likely only add to the frustration of paleontologists that are critical of auction sales that can deny scientists and the public access to incredible fossils.
