@fossilcrates: Happy Birthday #Tyrannosaurus rex! 120 years ago, Oct 4, 1905 Osborn published! #Trex 30 years ago I first encountered the aptly named Sue, cordoned off at SDSMT by FBI-style yellow tape, subjects of a lawsuit. 28 years ago, Oct 4, 1997, a Saturday, I was sitting at Sotheby’s auction house in NYC, next to Dale Russell, who stunned me when he bid ~$2 mil on Sue. He was giddy with excitement, holding up that paddle. I recall his smile to this day. RIP, Dale. Was it intentional that the auction was held on the actual birthday of the publication of Tyrannosaurus rex? The auction was exciting for sure, but it forever changed my grad student mind about paleo. I (and many others, I suspect) was advised not to attend the auction, speak to the press, or participate in any way with the commercial sale of a valuable specimen. Little did I know that the Field Museum and major corporations planned to buy Sue. The South Dakota locals bid a little over $1 mil, Dale’s was ~$2 million, highest on the floor. Bidding then moved to darkened skyboxes where Corporate consortia slugged it out. The whole spectacle was < 10 mins, the (prepared?) victory speech was about as long. It seemed the winners planned to win at any cost. The next day (pre-social media) the NYT noted Corporate America partnered with the Field Museum to “save” the fossil, paying the most $ for a fossil at the time, ~$7.6 mil before fees, ~$15.3 mil in today’s dollars. Quite the bargain based on today’s heady prices. The museum received a prestigious star to woo visitors, Disney two casts for amusement parks, McDonalds two casts for a traveling exhibit (did that ever happen?). It felt like they put a McD’s in the museum, too, but I’m not sure as I never dug into all the financial participants to see what they received for their contribution to the war chest. I simply left the auction, realizing that an important scientific specimen was “saved,” but at what cost to the industry? Who are original bones for? Researchers? The post-cranial bones are mounted, making study tough I suspect. The public? A cast w/ bones underneath would work brilliantly. Locals? SD’s pride was moved. A complex topic! #FossilCrates

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Saturday 04 October 2025 16:01:36 GMT