Vulcain, the largest dinosaur auctioned this Saturday, November 16 in Dampierre-en-Yvelines

As previously announced, this exceptional dinosaur has been on display for the past 4 months in the orangery of the Château de Dampierre in the Yvelines region of France. This atypical exhibition is coming to an end, as it will be auctioned off this Saturday, November 16, 2024.

On view until Friday, November 15, Vulcan 's skeleton impresses by its sheer size: 20.50 meters long and 4 meters high, this herbivorous giant is distinguished by the excellent preservation of its skeleton, composed of over 80%native fossilized bone.

Discovered in 2018 in Wyoming, USA, it required three years of painstaking excavation before arriving in France, where it has been on display since this summer at the Domaine de Dampierre, owned by entrepreneur Franky Mulliez. This public presentation, which attracts a large audience, allows everyone to admire this Jurassic relic before its probable departure for a new private home.

The worldwide craze for dinosaur fossils has been growing steadily in recent years. The auction record is currently held by a stegosaurus nicknamed Apex, sold at Sotheby's in July 2024 for $44.6 million, despite an initial estimate of $4-6 million. This record price follows a series of spectacular sales, starting with the famous T-Rex "Sue", sold in 1997 for $8.4 million, and "Stan", another T-Rex that fetched $31.8 million in 2020. These figures reveal a booming market, now well established in the United States and gradually spreading to Europe, despite hesitant beginnings.

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Vulcain, estimated at between 3 and 5 million euros by the Collin du Bocage and Barbarossa auction houses, could well exceed these forecasts, given its exceptional state of preservation. According to Éric Mickeler, renowned paleontology expert and former consultant for Sotheby's, the characteristics of this apatosaurus make it a rare piece. "Vulcan is extremely complete, with more than 306 original bones, i.e. around 80-85% of its skeleton, as well as half of its skull, a remarkable fact since skull bones rarely fossilize," he explains.

Natural history enthusiasts still have the opportunity to observe Vulcan before its sale. The exhibition remains open until Friday, November 15, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at a cost of 10 euros for adults, with free admission for accompanied children under 18. The auction begins the following day, from 4pm, in the magnificent rooms of the Château de Dampierre-en-Yvelines.

More than just a skeleton, Vulcan embodies a bygone era when gigantic creatures populated the Earth, and its auction represents a rare opportunity to preserve a fragment of that history. Information and reservations for the exhibition on the official Domaine de Dampierre website.

The largest dinosaur to be discovered at Château de Dampierre, back in the Jurassic period
For dinosaur fans and budding paleontologists, the Jurassic is coming to Château de Dampierre from July 13 to November 15, 2024. Vaucain, the largest dinosaur ever sold at auction in the world, will take up summer residence in the château's Orangerie. [Read more]