Tyrannosaurus rex Mounted Skeleton Going to a Museum Thanks to Private Buyer

The mounted T. rex skeleton known as “Samson” has finally been sold and is destined to be put on display thanks to the intervention of a private buyer according to a press release from the auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields.

This sounds like a happy ending for the 40-foot long exhibit that failed to sell at an auction of fossils and other artefacts at a Las Vegas auction last month.

To read more about the intended sale of “Samson”: T. rex under the hammer.

To read about the actual auction results: “Samson” fails to bring the house down at auction.

T. rex Skeleton

Tom Lindgren of auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields has commented that the private buyer is talking with several museums in North America with regards to allowing this mounted exhibit to become part of a public display.  The identity of the buyer is being kept secret, he (or she) stepped in when “Samson” failed to reach its pre-auction estimates of between $5-$8 million USD when part of the auction held at the Venetian hotel/casino on the Las Vegas Strip last month.

A Tyrannosaurus rex Skeleton on Display

The spectacular Titus the T. rex exhibit at Wollaton Hall.  A typical T. rex skeleton on display.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The spokesman for the auctioneers did reveal that the price paid was near the pre-auction estimates for the Tyrannosaurus specimen.  It is hoped that as well as permitting the public to view such a rare exhibit, that scientists will be able to complete a study of the fossilised bones.

We think that “Samson” was the Z-rex specimen that was discovered in South Dakota in 1992.  When much of the excavation had been completed, the fossilised bones were sold to a private collector in Kansas.   Hopefully, after seventeen years, this T. rex specimen will finally go on public display.

To view models and replicas of T. rex such as those from the Safari Ltd range that are available from Everything Dinosaur: Wild Safari Prehistoric World.