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Pharrell’s Joopiter to Auction Museum-Shown Triceratops ‘Trey’ March 17–31

The sale highlights soaring fossil prices that have pushed museums to the sidelines, renewing concerns over research access.

Overview

  • Online bidding will run March 17–31 with a pre-auction estimate of $4.5 million to $5.5 million, according to Joopiter.
  • Trey was discovered in 1993 near Lusk, Wyoming, excavated from the Lance Formation, restored in Germany, and displayed at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center from 1995 to 2023.
  • The skeleton, viewed by more than one million visitors, was recently sold privately and is now available for appointments in Singapore through the end of March.
  • This marks Joopiter’s first fossil offering as the platform seeks to broaden what new collectors consider culturally significant, said head of sale Caitlin Donovan.
  • Paleontologists warn that private ownership can hinder research access, a concern sharpened by record fossil prices such as the $44.6 million Stegosaurus ‘Apex’ and a recent Sotheby’s juvenile dinosaur topping $30 million.