A Rare Ceratosaurus Nasicornis Was Sold at $30.5 Million at an Auction.
On July 16, 2025, a juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis was auctioned at Sotheby’s, and it is one of the 4 known specimens of this species. Sotheby’s had a value of $6 million for this dinosaur, but with six minutes of bidding, it sold for a jaw-dropping $30.5 million.
This fossil was the remains of a dinosaur that wandered what are now North America, Europe, and parts of Africa 154-149 million years ago. It was a Ceratosaurus, which was identified by the two horns on its nose, its sharp teeth, and its bony osteoderms down its back and tail. The Ceratosaurus dinosaur is a carnivore. There are only four Ceratosaurus discovered but this one is the only young dinosaur of this species. The remains are six feet, 3 inches tall and ten feet, 8 inches long. Something that led this auction to grow was its fully intact skull with 57 bone elements and in total, it comprised 159 bone elements.
The auction lasted a fierce six minutes of negotiating and there were offers made from six people, including ones in the room, physically, online, and even on the phone. The pre-sale estimated price prior to the auction was $4 million but it actually reached $30.5 million which is over seven times what was originally estimated. It was finally bought by a bidder whose name is not yet revealed. This fossil made it to third place with its remarkable price. In first place is a fossil of a stegosaur that was sold for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s on July 17, 2024, and in second place was a fossil of a Tyrannosaurus Rex which was sold for $31.8 million at Christie’s on October 6, 2020.
This skeleton was discovered near Laramie, Wyoming, by Western Paleontological Laboratories and in Bone Cabin Quarry in 1996. On its way to this auction at Sotheby’s on July 16, 2025, it encountered multiple visits. When it was first discovered, it was held in the Bone Cabin Quarry, which is famous for its dinosaur fossils. Next, for over two decades, it was displayed in glass boxes at The Museum of Ancient Life in Thanksgiving Point, Utah, from 2000 to 2024. In 2024, the museum then sold it to Fossilogic, a fossil preparation and mounting company in Utah as well. Lastly, as is known, the ceratosaurus was auctioned at Sotheby’s in 2025. In the future, the buyer said that they have plans for loaning it to an institution for further study and to be viewed by the public.
In conclusion, the auction was successful with the price at $30.5 million at Sotheby’s when the pre-bid price was $4 million and the Ceratosaurus nasicornis continued its restructuring. While this discovery is going to be displayed to the public, paleontologists are still going to study it.