5 Things to Know Before Buying museum dinosaur manufacturer

As the Tyrannosaurus rex once hunted its prey, so controversy now stalks the trade in its bones. Private collectors of scientifically important dinosaur fossils must tread carefully. Auction houses have recently achieved eye-popping prices, most spectacularly in with the $31.8 million sale of Stan, a 37-foot-tall T. rex that outperformed his Christie&#;s auction mates Picasso, Renoir, and Cézanne and smashed the previous $8.4 million record price for the sale of a fossil at auction, set in by Sue, a fellow T. rex from South Dakota. Skulls and artful skeletal arrangements are also popping up at art fairs, completing the makeover from dusty museum diorama to fashionable art installation. 

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&#;Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in interest,&#; says Iacopo Briano, a paleontology expert at Giquello auction house, which holds dinosaur sales at the Hô Drouot in Paris. The appeal for private collectors is obvious: A T. rex makes for an awe-inspiring sculptural piece for that awkward-to-fill atrium. But the risks are high. Nicolas Cage reportedly was among the collectors of Tarbosaurus bataar who gave up their fossils after Mongolian paleontologist Bolortsetseg Minjin reminded authorities in that all Mongolian fossils are the property of that state&#;and all known T. bataars have been unearthed in Mongolia. 

When Robb Report spoke with Bolortsetseg in May, she was waiting to receive &#;about 20&#; illegally collected Mongolian dinosaurs, including the skull purportedly owned by Cage, from Homeland Security. The actor, she notes, most likely lost his money, and &#;the person who sold that dinosaur skull to him went to jail.&#; (That would be convicted smuggler Eric Prokopi.) Bolortsetseg advises collectors to avoid specimens labeled as originating from Mongolia or Central Asia and not to rely on the assurances of auction houses, which &#;want to make money.&#; Natural-history specialists from Sotheby&#;s and Christie&#;s declined to comment. 

Michael Triebold, president of Triebold Paleontology Inc., a leading fossil excavator and dealer, recommends that collectors &#;do your due diligence, be skeptical, and find someone who can mentor you who has no vested interest in whether you make a purchase. Photographic and field-log records are always important. Provenance is vital.&#; 

Fossil-export laws differ widely. In the United States and many European countries, specimens found on private land are the property of the landowner and can be sold or exported at will. China has had an export ban since . Canada restricts trade even between provinces, says Peter Larson, president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, which excavated Stan and Sue. 

Whether individuals should be allowed to sequester parts of what some consider to be our communal heritage is a live issue. The U.S.-based Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) regularly begs auction houses not to sell dinosaur bones, arguing that they should instead be &#;held in public trust.&#; Many privately owned fossils are in fact loaned or donated to museums: Stan will be the star attraction at Abu Dhabi&#;s natural-history museum, set to open in , while the world&#;s largest triceratops&#;Big John, which sold for about $7.7 million in to health-care investor Sidd Pagidipati&#;is currently on loan to the Glazer Children&#;s Museum in Tampa, Fla. 

Some paleontologists refuse to study privately owned dinosaurs, a position others regard as excessively purist. Larson, an SVP member, points out that &#;all the natural-history museums in the world were, almost entirely without exception, someone&#;s private collection.&#; 

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Pitfalls remain, even with perfect paperwork. As prices rise, so does the likelihood of litigation. How can you tell how much of that skeleton in the auction showroom is cretaceous and how much is 3-D printed? &#;If they say there&#;s no restoration, that&#;s possible but unlikely,&#; Larson says. &#;You can check restoration with ultraviolet light or X-ray.&#; 

In November, Christie&#;s withdrew a T. rex scheduled for sale in Hong Kong after Larson identified it as being largely a replica of Stan. Prices have wobbled since. A T. rex skull that crossed the block at Sotheby&#;s in December with an estimate of $15 million to $20 million sold for just $6.1 million. Whether this blip will develop into a more serious loss of confidence remains to be seen. Until last year, price inflation has led to an increase in prospecting, which means that more recently unearthed fossils are likely headed to market. 

Auction houses have more sales scheduled, including at Giquello, which will hold a Jurassic Park&#;themed event in October as well as an Ice Age&#;specimen sale in spring . With prices having lost a bit of froth, now might be a good time to place a judicious bid. 

Authors

• Lucy Alexander

  Lucy joins Robb Report from Tokyo, where she spent six years reporting on people and places in Japan for The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, The Financial Times and the BBC. She was&#;

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I have lived in the area for years and have driven past this place hundreds of times. I always thought that it was just a store selling geodes and fossils. I finally stopped in this place the other day and I am kicking myself for not stopping here sooner. It is fascinating and there is a lot to it for first-time visitors. According to their website, the store first opened in November . They started designing exhibits for museums and other locations. They liked doing it so much and wanted to share it with their community so, in they designed a non-profit museum right into the design for the new Dinosaur Store. The NEW Dinosaur Store and Adventure Zone opened on the first floor in March , and the Museum of Dinosaurs and Ancient Cultures opened on the second and third floors in April . It is fascinating. There are 3 floors to the entire site. The first floor is a store and other adventures. The second floor is the dinosaur exhibits and the third floor is dedicated to ancient civilizations. The prices are about $12/person to see the upper 2 floors. The exhibits are top quality and truly are the best I have seen in any museum. I spent about hours looking at all the different pieces from various periods. It was fascinating, beautiful, and amazing. I highly recommend this place to any visitor in the area. Enjoy.

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