T. Rex Skull Found in South Dakota Going Up for Auction

A Tyrannosaurus rex skull unearthed in South Dakota two years ago is going on the auction block in December.

The Associated Press is reporting that Sotheby's is selling the 200-pound skull fossil, nicknamed 'Maximus', on December 9.

It's expected to bring in between $15-$25 million.

Get our free mobile app

The 6 1/2-foot skull was excavated in 2020 and 2021 in Harding County. It is estimated to be about 76 million years old.

There was a time three decades ago when western South Dakota was the unofficial 'Dinosaur Capital of the World'.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a trio of massive Tyrannosaurus rex remains were found in the Mount Rushmore State, and now have new homes in museums more than 7,000 miles apart.

It all began with the discovery of what would later become T. Rex 'Stan'.

Stan's remains were first unearthed near Buffalo in 1987 and were fully excavated in 1992. The fossils were later sold at auction for a record $31.8 million and will now be on display at a newly created museum in Abu Dhabi.

Before Stan could be fully removed from the ground, two other fossil finds were uncovered in Harding County.

Later in 1987, the remains of what would later be known as T. Rex 'Samson' were unearthed in South Dakota.

Later, Samson was on display at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas before being auctioned off for $5 million in October of 2009. Later that year Samson took up residence at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

In August of 1990, what would later be known as T. Rex 'Sue' was discovered in the same area. Those remains later sold for $8.3 million.

Sue is now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.