SAMSON UNSOLD

"Samson" was on display in The Venetian, Las Vegas, for two weeks prior to the auction.
Estimates suggested a sale price of between $6 to 8 million, but bidding only reached $3.6 million before the lot was withdrawn, as it did not meet the reserve price.
Possibly the present crisis is a reason for the low bids on this extraordinary creature.
 
Samson is the third most complete T Rex skeleton ever found, consisting of 170 complete bones. As an example, Sue in the Field Museum, Chicago has 200 complete bones. Samson is also the most perfectly preserved of the very few T Rex skeletons that have been discovered.
 
Almost 50 other items did sell at the auction bringing in a staggering $1.7 million. The items included an almost perfect Duck Billed Dinosaur skeleton which sold for $458,000, a world record.
 
In addition over 15,000 people visited the exhibition prior to the auction.
 
This is probably the start of a long term collaboration between Bonhams & Butterfields New York, and The Venetian.
 
It is fairly certain that "Samson" will be sold privately in the very near future. It is the opportunity of a lifetime to purchase such a beast.
Hopefully it will be bought by a museum where it can be displayed for all to see.