Paris Auction Offers Rare Dinosaur ‘Barry’ for Sale

An exceptionally well-preserved 150 million-year-old camptosaurus, affectionately named “Barry” after its discoverer in Wyoming, is slated for auction at Hotel Drouot in Paris on October 20th. This remarkable specimen from the late Jurassic period, standing at 2.1 meters tall and stretching 5 meters long after undergoing two rounds of restoration in 2000 and 2022, is expected to command bids of up to €1.2 million ($1.2 million, £970,000).

Experts note the rarity of encountering such an intact dinosaur skeleton, with Alexandre Giquello of Hotel Drouot highlighting the completeness of Barry, particularly its 90% complete skull and 80% complete rest of the body.

Dinosaur fossil sales remain infrequent, with only a small number occurring globally each year. Nevertheless, concerns have been raised by experts about valuable specimens potentially ending up in private collections. This concern was brought to attention in April when a Tyrannosaurus rex was auctioned in Europe for the first time, prompting worries that such scientifically valuable relics could vanish into the private holdings of collectors.

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