Auction Record for T-Rex Dinosaur Jumps 57% With $50.1M Sale
3 min read · 14 Jul 2026
"Gus" - A Mounted Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton. Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian Stage (approx. 67 million years ago), Hell Creek Formation, Harding County, South Dakota, USA. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Gus, a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton (approx. 67 million years old), discovered at Hell Creek Formation, Harding County, South Dakota, sold for $50.13m, more than two and a half times the low estimate at Sotheby's in New York on July 14.
The specimen had not been traded before.
The sale beat the previous auction record for a dinosaur skeleton, set by a T-Rex called Stan, by $18.28m, a 57% rise.
The previous most expensive dinosaur was named Stan and it sold for $31.85m in 2020. Image courtesy of Christie's
The previous record was set at Christie's on October 6, 2020, when a T-Rex dinosaur called Stan sold for $31.85m
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
July 14, 2026 | "Gus" - A Mounted Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton. Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian Stage (approx. 67 million years ago), Hell Creek Formation, Harding County, South Dakota, USA | $50.13m | 57 % | Sotheby's | New York |
October 06, 2020 | - | $31.85m | - | Christie's | New York |
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