The finest Stegosaurus to appear at auction, “Apex,” made history today selling for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s New York, becoming the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction, exceeding its pre-sale low estimate over 11 times.

Selling to applause after a bidding battle lasting over 15 minutes, “Apex” was chased by seven bidders on the phone to the final record-breaking price, more than 11 times its low estimate. The fossil follows a long tradition of unique and important dinosaurs offered at Sotheby’s, surpassing “Sue,” the first-ever dinosaur to be sold at auction, who achieved $8.2 million in 1997.

In 2022, commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper discovered “Apex” at his property in the aptly named Dinosaur, Colorado. Nose to tail, it measures 11 feet tall and 27 feet long.

Sotheby's specialist Cassandra Hatton collaborated closely with Cooper from the day of discovery to document the entire process, from excavation to restoration, preparation, and mounting, ensuring that the specimen was handled with the highest standards and transparency, preserving important contextual information, such as fossilized skin impressions, and three ossicles (throat armor), which were sold together with “Apex” today.

This is the first time an auction house has been involved with a specimen of this kind throughout the whole process.

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