Most expensive dinosaur bones sold at auction

The most expensive dinosaur bones sold at auction is a T. rex skeleton nicknamed "Gus", which fetched $50.1 m (£37.5 m / €43.9 m), including buyer's premium, at Sotheby's in New York City, USA, on 14 July 2026.

The skeleton represents around 61% of the total number of bones, but as much as 80% of the original bone mass. Gus's skull in particular is extremely well preserved, with about 82% of the original bones, with other rare bones also represented such as a furcula (wishbone) and two remarkably intact feet. When mounted, Gus measures in at 38 ft (11.6 m) long and 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) tall, with a more-than-4-ft-long (1.2-m) skull.

Gus's pre-sale guide price was $20–30 m. After a fever-pitched 10-minute, seven-way bidding war, Gus went to an anonymous buyer for double that estimate.

This surpassed the previous record hammer price of $44.6 m (£34.4 m / €40.9 m), including buyer's premium, paid for a remarkably intact Stegosaurus skeleton nicknamed "Apex" on 17 July 2024, also at Sotheby's auction in New York City, USA.

Gus is one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeletons ever to be discovered, only rivalled by the likes of famous specimens such as "Sue" and "Stan" (both of whom are former holders of this record). The remains were excavated in Harding County, South Dakota, USA, over three scorching summer seasons in 2021–23. The bones were uncovered by fossil hunter Thomas Heitkamp on the land of cattle rancher Gary "Gus" Licking, who sadly passed away a year into the excavation and after whom the T. rex was subsequently named. For many years, Licking had been aware of fossilized prehistoric bones and teeth on his 6,500-acre (2,630-ha) ranch and decided to join forces with Heitkamp's palaeontological team to explore below the surface; Licking suggested they start on the very site where Gus would go on to be found!

Image credit: Sotheby's / Matthew Sherman