Ultra-Rich Drive Fever for Dinosaur Fossils, with Top Prices Exceeding 60 Billion Won

Despite top prices soaring past 60 billion won, the fever among the ultra-wealthy to collect dinosaur fossils shows no sign of cooling down, the British daily Financial Times (FT) reported on October 5 (local time).

According to the FT, Sotheby's in New York, US, plans to put a rare fossil of the carnivorous dinosaur Nanotyrannus up for auction later this month.

Sotheby's estimated that the dinosaur fossil, named "Jodi," will sell for between $6 million and $9 million (approx. 8.07 billion to 12.1 billion won).

This upcoming auction comes just three months after a large carnivorous Tyrannosaurus rex fossil named "Gus" fetched $50.1 million (approx. 67.4 billion won), setting an all-time record for a dinosaur fossil.

The Nanotyrannus fossil featured in this auction was discovered in Montana, US, in 2019.

This marks the first time a Nanotyrannus fossil has been brought to the market.

The collecting craze for dinosaur fossils among the wealthy gained major attention in 2024 when Ken Griffin, a prominent figure in the US hedge fund industry, purchased a herbivorous Stegosaurus fossil for $44.6 million (approx. 60 billion won), which was a record price at the time.

Previously, Hollywood superstar actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicolas Cage drew attention when they competed against each other in a 2007 auction for a dinosaur skull fossil.

While the Stegosaurus fossil won by Griffin is currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the whereabouts of the Tyrannosaurus rex fossil sold three months ago remain unknown.

Nanotyrannus, the subject of the fossil going under the hammer later this month, is a dinosaur species that has been a subject of debate in the paleontological community for over 80 years.

Resembling a miniature version of a Tyrannosaurus rex, opinions have long been sharply divided over whether Nanotyrannus is a juvenile Tyrannosaurus or an entirely distinct dinosaur.

Last year, a research team led by Professor Lindsay Zanno of North Carolina State University released findings indicating that Nanotyrannus belongs to a separate genus distinct from Tyrannosaurus.

Cassandra Hatton, global head of science and popular culture at Sotheby's, stated, "Scientifically important and visually striking items always attract a lot of interest," expressing expectations for fierce competition to win the Nanotyrannus fossil.

(Photo: Screen capture from Sotheby's Facebook account post, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.