Fw: BONES OF DISPUTED DINOSAUR TO BE AUCTIONED OFF

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> From: Two Guys Fossils <app@twoguysfossils.com>
> To: LLOYD ORTEGA <buddy@centuryinter.net>
> Subject: Fw: BONES OF DISPUTED DINOSAUR TO BE AUCTIONED OFF
> Date: Monday, November 18, 1996 3:15 PM
> 
> CHECK THIS OUT         AL
> 
> ----------
> > From: ClayOlson@aol.com
> > To: rocks-and-fossils@world.std.com; fossil-nuts@notam.uio.no
> > Subject: BONES OF DISPUTED DINOSAUR TO BE AUCTIONED OFF
> > Date: Saturday, November 16, 1996 1:13 AM
> > 
> > 
> > ---------------------
> > Forwarded message:
> > From:	NewsHound@sjmercury.com (NewsHound)
> > To:	clayolson@aol.com
> > Date: 96-11-15 23:36:05 EST
> > 
> > Selected by your NewsHound profile entitled "MISC PROFILE". The
> selectivity
> > score was 30 out of 100.
> > 
> > BONES OF DISPUTED DINOSAUR TO BE AUCTIONED OFF
> > New York Times
> > 
> > Cut off in the prime of life 65 million years ago, chiseled from a
butte
> in
> > South Dakota in 1990 and seized by the FBI two years later, Sue the
> > Tyrannosaur is headed for the auction block at Sotheby's. She may bring
> well
> > over $1 million, which would be the highest price ever paid for a
fossil.
> > 
> > The auction will be held next spring in New York City. David Redden, a
> > Southeby's vice president, said in an interview that the exact date
would
> > depend on how long it took to remove the huge bones from the rock in
> which
> > they are embedded.
> > 
> > For the last four years, Sue has been the focus of bitter legal battles
> > involving commercial fossil dealers, academic paleontologists, a Sioux
> > Indian, the National Guard, several government agencies and the
> Department of
> > Justice.
> > 
> > The fossil dealer who excavated the dinosaur, Peter L. Larsen, is
serving
> a
> > two-year sentence at a federal prison camp. Legal documents generated
by
> > disputes over the dinosaur and criminal charges related to its seizure
> fill a
> > storeroom, and the rights of fossil prospectors to hunt on federal land
> > remain the subject of bitter contention.
> > 
> > In the forthcoming Sotheby's catalogue, Sue will be listed as
``Property
> of
> > the United States of America in Trust for Maurice Williams of Faith,
> South
> > Dakota.'' The United States, in this case, is the Bureau of Indian
> Affairs,
> > which gave permission to Williams, a Sioux, to sell the fossil and keep
> the
> > proceeds.
> > 
> > The dinosaur, which is about 50 feet long, has been described by
> > paleontologists as the most complete and best articulated skeleton of a
> > Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. Even small bones from the ears, head and
> > vertebrae have been preserved in such detail that experts were able to
> guess
> > that she was a middle-aged female.
> > 
> > Although no fossil of such scientific and commercial importance has
ever
> been
> > on the open market before, Redden said, its value is estimated at ``$1
> > million plus.'' Several paleontologists said the bones might bring up
to
> $5
> > million, but others said the price might be much lower.
> > 
> > ``It's going to cost Sotheby's about a half million dollars to clean
> those
> > bones, and the dinosaur bone market has been depressed by a lot of
recent
> > tyrannosaur discoveries,'' said Dr. Donald L. Wolberg, a paleontologist
> at
> > the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. ``They'll never get $1
> > million, and it's really sad that Sue has come to this.''
> > 
> > Sotheby's does not intend to assemble the gigantic skeleton, but will
> > dislodge the bones from the stony matrix in which they are embedded,
and
> > clean them under supervision.
> > 
> > The dinosaur arrived in New York from impoundment by agents of the
> Federal
> > Bureau of Investigation in Rapid City, S.D., two weeks ago in 135
boxes,
> and
> > the FBI seal on the box containing the fully cleaned skull was broken
> last
> > Wednesday in preparation for the auction.
> > 
> > In principle, Sue could be bought by anyone or any institution for any
> > purpose, including resale by a commercial dealer. When the dinosaur was
> > seized by the federal government in 1992, the U.S. attorney and several
> > paleontologists insisted that all fossils collected on federal land
> should
> > remain accessible to the American people, and that Sue should not leave
> the
> > country.
> > 
> > But since then, a series of court decisions has assigned legal
ownership
> of
> > the bones to Williams, who was approached by Sotheby's in a move to
> handle
> > the sale of his dinosaur. As a result of the auction, Sue could end up
in
> > Japan, where dinosaur fossils are in great demand, or anywhere else.
> > 
> > But to make it easier for Sue to remain an American, Redden said,
> Sotheby's
> > has imposed an extremely unusual condition for the auction: Any U.S.
> > institution that submits a winning bid will be granted an extended
> payment
> > plan, by which the fossil can be bought in installments over three
years.
> No
> > foreign institution or individual will have this privilege.
> > 
> > ``As you can see,'' Redden said, ``we are throwing down a challenge to
> > America's institutions to keep Sue in the United States.''
> > 
> > 
> > This material is copyrighted and may not be republished without
> permission of
> > the originating newspaper or wire service. NewsHound is a service of
the
> San
> > Jose Mercury News. For more information call 1-888-344-6863.
> >