Sotheby's Big T. Rex Auction Raises Concerns Hype and Wealth Are Upending Science

Sotheby's Big Auction Raises Concerns Hype and Wealth Are Upending Science Private buyers are increasingly outbidding museums for fossils. That's making it difficult--or even impossible--for researchers to improve our understanding of the past. Forget the sale of the century. The auction house Sotheby's is gearing up for the sale of the epoch. On July 14 it will open live bidding on assorted fossils, but the pièce de résistance is lot 20, a rare 67-million-year-old skeleton.