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Stegosaurus sells for almost $45 million at Sotheby’s auction, the most for any dinosaur fossil
Sotheby’s has auctioned off the skeleton of a stegosaurus named Apex, billed as “the finest for Stegosaurus to ever come to market,” for almost $45 million, a record.
The sale price far exceeds the estimate of $4 million to $6 million that Sotheby’s had assigned to the lot. Described as a mounted Stegosaurus skeleton, the exact sale price was $44.6 million, surpassing earlier sales records for dinosaur fossils.
Sotheby’s, which said the auction closed Wednesday morning, did not immediately disclose the buyer’s identity.
The iconic skeleton is approximately 161 million years old, according to Sotheby’s, and measures 11 feet tall by nearly 27 feet long from nose to tail. According to the auction house’s listing, Apex “is mounted in an aggressive attack pose on a custom steel armature.”
It was excavated on private land in Moffat County, Colorado, near the town of Dinosaur, between 2022 and 2023.
The fossil of one of the world’s most recognizable dinosaurs is nearly completely intact, according to Sotheby’s. The fossil also shows signs of arthritis, suggesting that Apex lived a long life.
Apex is not the first dinosaur to sell at auction. In 1997, a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil sold for $8.4 million and in 2020, another T. rex skeleton fetched $32 million. Two years later, in 2022, Sothebys sold a Gorgosaurus skeleton for over $6 million.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Tupperware files for bankruptcy amid slumping sales
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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JD Vance echoes Trump, blames Democrats for apparent assassination attempt
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