• ALLOSAURUS

  • Pre-auction estimate: GBP 5,000,000 – GBP 8,000,000

• STEGOSAURUS

  • Pre-auction estimate: GBP 3,000,000 – GBP 5,000,000

This market resolves to the dinosaur skeleton with the higher final sale price listed on the Christie's website.

For context, the allosaurus has a higher pre-auction estimate (perhaps because it's actually two dinosaurs, adult + juvenile), and is likely favored to win. However, these estimates can be extremely loose (they were off by a factor of 10x for the Sotheby's sale in July). So I think there is a small-but-meaningful chance they get this wrong.

Resolution details

• Example from a past auction: this T-Rex had a "price realised" of USD 31,847,500. This is the equivalent number I will use—whatever is displayed by the auction page.

• Note that the final listed sale price typically includes the buyer's premium (and potentially other fees).

• If either lot is not put up for bidding at the auction for any reason, this market resolves N/A. If one is bid on but does not ultimately sell, that counts as $0. Ties resolve to 50% each.

ALLOSAURUS

The Allosaurus was the great predator of the Late Jurassic. An extinct genus of sizeable carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 157 to 145 million years ago, these ferocious hunters have long been recognized in popular culture as the original killer dinosaur, pre-dating the Tyrannosaurus rex, both in age and date of discovery. The Allosaurus is one of the first dinosaurs to be depicted on the silver screen, the apex predator of the 1912 novel and the 1925 cinema adaptation of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World. However, while the prevailing portrayal of these predators has been that of the lone hunter, for the first time at auction, see two Allosaurus, a juvenile, and a full-grown adult, are offered as a pair. Unearthed side-by-side, the unique duo presents a rare insight into the familial dynamics of the dinosaur species. It perhaps suggests a more nurturing side to the ‘lions of the Jurassic’ (Walking with Dinosaurs, 1999). (Lot essay).

STEGOSAURUS

In the annals of palaeontology, the Stegosaurus stands as the iconic symbol of the Jurassic. Roaming 157-145 million years ago, a member of the clade of armoured dinosaurs (thyreophorans) known as Stegosauria, the dinosaur is instantly recognisable by its distinct two rows of dorsal plates that adorn its arched back and four menacing terminal spikes that punch-mark its tail. These unique features have perplexed palaeontologists over the last centuries and remain an enigmatic and scientifically disputed footmark on the physiological understanding of the species. However, these exclusive attributes have established the Stegosaurus as one of, if not the, most recognisable dinosaurs. (Lot essay)