Auction of skeleton: A dino for the home

Not everyone is happy that the T-Rex Trinity is now in private hands. The fact is, however, that science needs financially strong patrons.

Big deal: the TRX-293 Trinity dinosaur skeleton measures 11.6 by 3.9 meters Photo: Oliver Nanzig/Koller Auctions/dpa

But where should you put it? The books are stacked on the shelves, the sloping roof in the bedroom is a nuisance, and the thing is a bit impractical at 12 meters long and 4 meters high. Still, that’s Tyrannosaurus–The skeleton “Trinity” went over the auction table to an anonymous person at an auction in Zurich this week for 5.6 million euros.

Trinity consists of the prehistoric remains of three Tyrannosaurus Rex plus a bunch of plastic, because not all bones could be found in the original. And you know how annoying it is when pieces of the puzzle are still missing at the end. Of course, there is some sniffing at this hybridization. In fact, the procedure is quite common in the museum world. Completely preserved skeletons of large dinosaurs are practically non-existent.

Criticism has been raised because Trinity may now be sitting around privately instead of in a museum. Of course, in a better world, intellectual and scientific treasures like these would not become private property. But that’s not unusual either. Other famous dinosaurs, such as the tyrannosaurus Tristan Otto, which has been admired in Berlin for a long time, come from private ownership – as do numerous other fossils, natural treasures and works of art.

Even scientific names of newly discovered animals or plants are sometimes given to private individuals for money. You may find that unpleasant, but in a completely capitalist economy it is the logical consequence. As long as the world is as it is, we should rather be thankful that such patronage means that funds flow into science and art that the state and society as a rule cannot or do not want to provide.

Without the private financing, the bones would probably still be lying in the American desert dust. After the revolution we can still socialize them so that everyone benefits. If this is taking too long, let me console you: In view of their age of 65 million years, the few centuries really don’t matter anymore.