Sotheby’s Expects 200-Pound T Rex Skull That Has Battle Wounds To Sell For $15M

A 200-Pound Tyrannosaurus Rex fossilized skull is expected to sell for $15 million or more at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in December.

The 6 1/2-foot T rex skull nicknamed “Maximus” is 76 million years old and was discovered between 2020- 2021 by being dug up in South Dakota.

“A ferocious visitor has arrived at #SothebysNewYork! This fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex skull (named Maximus!) is one of the best and most complete of its kind ever discovered,” Sotheby’s said on Twitter.

It will be sold at an auction on Dec. 9. Officials with Sotheby’s explained this T rex is special because it can fit in a house and has visible battle wounds from when it was alive.

“When you think about it, more people can fit a skull in their home than people who could fit a full dinosaur,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s head of science and popular culture said.

The battle wounds can be seen through two punctures wounds in its skull. Hatton believes the wounds could have come from a fight with another T rex.

“We don’t know that this is what caused the death of this animal, but we can tell that it did have a major battle during its lifetime,” Hatten added.

Besides the puncture wounds, the T rex skull is mostly intact and most of its teeth were able to be recovered as well. The rest of its body though had become too damaged by erosion overtime.