T. rex skeleton sells for more than $5M at Zurich auction

Crafted into an open-mouth pose, the T. rex measuring 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet) high came in under the anticipated range of 5 million to 8 million francs when it went under the hammer at the Koller house in Zurich.

Koller had said Tuesday's sale would be the first time such a T. rex skeleton would go up for auction in Europe. The composite skeleton was a showpiece of an auction that featured some 70 lots, and the skull was set up next to the auctioneer's podium throughout.

"It could be that it was a composite—that could be why the purists didn't go for it," Karl Green, the auction house's marketing director, said by phone. "It's a fair price for the dino. I hope it's going to be shown somewhere in public."

Green did not immediately identify the buyer. Including the "buyer's premium" and fees, the sale came to 5.5 million Swiss francs (about $6.1 million), Koller said.

Promoters said the composite T. rex, dubbed "Trinity," was built from specimens retrieved from three sites in the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations of Montana and Wyoming between 2008 and 2013.

Cyril Koller, CEO of auction house Koller, stands next to the head of the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Trinity, during an auction in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The 293 T. rex bones were assembled into a growling posture that measures 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet high. The skeleton is expected to fetch 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs ($5.6-$8.9 million). Credit: Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP

The head of the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Trinity, is seen during an auction in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The 293 T. rex bones were assembled into a growling posture that measures 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet high. The skeleton is expected to fetch 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs ($5.6-$8.9 million). Credit: Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP

Cyril Koller, CEO of auction house Koller, stands next to the head of the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Trinity, during an auction in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The 293 T. rex bones were assembled into a growling posture that measures 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet high. The skeleton is expected to fetch 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs ($5.6-$8.9 million). Credit: Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP

A model of a dinosaur is seen during an auction of auction house Koller, for the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Trinity, in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The 293 T. rex bones were assembled into a growling posture that measures 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet high. The skeleton is expected to fetch 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs ($5.6-$8.9 million). Credit: Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP

A view of the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Trinity, during a preview by auction house Koller at the Tonhalle Zurich concert hall, on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland. A giant T. Rex skeleton that’s been dug up from three sites in the United States is going up for auction in Zurich on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 a first sale of its kind in Europe. Credit: Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP, File

Cyril Koller, CEO of auction house Koller, stands next to the head of the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex named Trinity, during an auction in Zurich, Switzerland on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The 293 T. rex bones were assembled into a growling posture that measures 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet high. The skeleton is expected to fetch 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs ($5.6-$8.9 million). Credit: Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP