Dino Dealer Discusses Fossil Market as Sotheby’s Sells T. Rex for $50 M.

When Sotheby’s sold “Sue,” a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, for $8.4 million in 1997, the house changed the way the art world looked at dinosaur fossils. Nearly three decades later, the market has grown dramatically. In 2020, Christie’s sold another T. rex, named “Stan,” for $31.8 million. And then, in 2024, Sotheby’s set a new record with “Apex,” a nearly complete stegosaurus that sold for $44.6 million.

On Tuesday, Sotheby’s landed even higher with “Gus,” one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons ever found. Standing 12.5 feet tall and measuring nearly 40 feet long, the specimen dates back 67 million years and carried an estimate of $30 million. The headline lot of the house’s Geek Week, a series of three sales titled “Natural History,” “Space Exploration,” and “History of Science & Technology,” Gus sold on Tuesday morning for a record $50.1 million with fees, a record for a fossil on the auction block.

The growth of the dinosaur fossil market has created a new ecosystem of dealers, excavators, and specialists. Among those shaping the field is Sal Aaron, director of David Aaron Gallery in London, which specializes in fossils, antiquities, and natural history objects. The gallery has placed important dinosaur specimens with institutions, including the newly identified dinosaur Enigmacursor which is now on view at London’s Natural History Museum.

ARTnews spoke to Aaron about the rise of dinosaur collecting, the market for exceptional specimens, and what it takes to bring a fossil from an excavation site to a collection.

This interview has been edited lightly for clarity and conciseness.

ARTnews: Sotheby’s has helped bring dinosaur fossils into the mainstream auction market. From your perspective as a dealer, has that been positive for the field?

Sal Aaron: I think auction houses entering the dinosaur fossil market has been overwhelmingly positive. Landmark sales of T. rex specimens such as “Sue,” “Stan,” and now “Gus” have brought a lot of attention to fossils as collectible objects and introduced a new audience to the category.

That increased awareness has also led to more investment in the field, which means more fossils are being discovered, studied, and adding to our understanding of dinosaurs. There is still a lot to learn, and every important specimen has the potential to contribute something new.

David Aaron Gallery works differently from the auction world, often placing specimens through private sales. What does that approach allow you to do?

Where possible, we prioritize placing dinosaur fossils with institutions, especially when they have scientific importance. Private sales give us more control over who has access to the specimens and allow us to prioritize museum clients.

We try to give museums time to consider acquisitions, since their purchasing processes can take longer than those of private collectors. A great example is Enigmacursor, which we placed with the Natural History Museum in London through the support of a private benefactor who donated the specimen for research and public access.

Most of the dinosaur fossils you handle come from the US. Why has the country become such an important source for these discoveries?

We focus exclusively on dinosaurs from the US because the legal framework around fossils found on private land is clear. A dinosaur discovered on private property, with the permission of the landowner, can be legally sold and exported.

The American West is also home to some of the most iconic dinosaurs ever discovered, including Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Diplodocus. The geological conditions in places such as Montana, Wyoming, and Utah have made the region especially rich in dinosaur discoveries.

Who is buying dinosaur fossils today? Has the collector base changed?

Museums remain important collectors, particularly with new institutions opening in the Middle East and Asia. Private collectors come from many different backgrounds, but we are seeing interest from younger collectors, often people working in technology and science.

Some collectors are also looking beyond traditional categories of collecting and are interested in rare objects with a strong story behind them. Dinosaur fossils fit naturally into that because they combine rarity, history, and a direct connection to the natural world.

The market has seen some extraordinary prices in recent years. Do those headline sales reflect the wider market?

Like the art market, headline sales represent the very top end of a category. Dinosaur fossils can sell across a wide range, from a few thousand pounds for a tooth or fragment to tens of millions for an exceptional skeleton.

The very best specimens—those that are complete, rare, and have a clear provenance—will continue to command significant prices. As the market matures, I think there will be an even greater premium placed on those exceptional examples.

What are the biggest challenges involved in selling dinosaur fossils?

The biggest challenge is the time it takes to find and excavate them. There is limited public understanding of how long that process can take. A lot depends on chance, relationships with experienced dinosaur hunters, and the weather conditions at excavation sites.

It can take two or three years just to excavate a dinosaur. After that, there are further stages including preparation, conservation, and mounting. We draw on decades of experience from the art world to approach those processes with the highest standards.

What are collectors becoming more interested in as the market develops?

Collectors are becoming more discerning about legal title, provenance, completeness, and rarity. Species that have become famous through popular culture, such as T. rex, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, and Velociraptor, continue to attract interest.

Completeness is a major factor in determining value. A specimen’s rarity, condition, and scientific importance all contribute to its appeal. The best examples are the ones that tell a story and stand apart from others.

You exhibited a juvenile T. rex called “Chomper” at Frieze Masters in 2023 and helped place the newly identified dinosaur Enigmacursor with the Natural History Museum. What have been some of the most memorable specimens you’ve handled?

“Chomper” was an extraordinary specimen, particularly because of the completeness of its skull. Exhibiting a juvenile T. rex at Frieze Masters was a unique experience because it placed a dinosaur fossil in dialogue with major works of fine art. It created an unexpected conversation between different forms of collecting and showed how fossils can be appreciated within a broader cultural context.

Enigmacursor was another unforgettable moment. When we acquired the specimen, it was classified as a Nanosaurus, but when we showed it to curators at the Natural History Museum, they believed it represented a new species. We then placed the fossil on reserve while we worked with an existing client to acquire the specimen and donate it to the museum.

To play a role in the discovery of a new dinosaur species and help ensure it could be studied and seen by the public was an incredible experience. It’s one of the reasons this field remains so exciting: every specimen has the possibility of revealing something new.