A near-complete Triceratops fossil from the Late Cretaceous period, dubbed “Trey,” sold online for $5.55 million last week, marking the latest in a list of dinosaur specimens to fetch colossal fees in commercial sales.
Experts say demand and prices for prehistoric pieces have accelerated in recent years as the wealthy have sought to secure a bone, a skull, or even an entire skeleton from the myriad reptiles who once ruled the world.
In the last six years, three fossils have sold at auction for upwards of $30 million. The Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism shelled out a then-record $31.8 million in 2020 for “Stan,” one of the world’s most complete T. rex skeletons, before hedge fund billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin blew that sum out of the water with his $44.6 million purchase of an enormous Stegosaurus specimen, nicknamed “Apex,” in 2024.
Then, last July, one of only four known Ceratosaurus fossils was the subject of a bidding war at Sotheby’s New York auction house, which ended with an unidentified buyer forking out $30.5 million for the 6-foot-3-inch (1.9 meter) tall predator.
Hollywood has also had a bite. Nicolas Cage bought a Tyrannosaurus skull for $276,000 at auction in 2007, while Russell Crowe handed over $35,000 for a Mosasaur head he spotted mounted on the wall at the home of Leonardo DiCaprio.
Trey’s sale was organized by Joopiter, an online auction house founded by musician, producer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams. Having primarily targeted younger collectors with “culture-shaping” art, merchandise and collectibles — from ultra-exclusive sneakers to a signed Michael Jordan trading card — a first foray into dinosaurs marked a dramatic pivot for the digital-first platform.