$47.3M Result for "Jodi" The Nano at Sotheby's
“Jodi,” the extraordinarily rare Nanotyrannus specimen, sold at Sotheby’s today for $47.3 million, after a twelve-minute bidding battle that saw six bidders compete online and over the phones, before ultimately selling on the phone.
With today’s result, “Jodi” becomes the second most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction, surpassed only by “Gus,” which achieved $50.1 million at Sotheby’s this July.
One of the most exceptional and rare dinosaur fossils ever to come to auction, "Jodi" is a remarkably complete specimen of Nanotyrannus, a genus whose identity has been the subject of scientific debate for nearly a century. “Jodi” is one of only three substantial Nanotyrannus skeletons known to science, and the first to come to market since the genus was confirmed last fall. The finest and most complete Nanotyrannus available, “Jodi” is an exceptional example of this elusive predator, boasting a virtually complete skull, and is second only to “Bloody Mary,” the Nanotyrannus that forms one half of the celebrated “Dueling Dinosaurs" (also excavated by Clayton Phipps).
Discovered in 2019 by Montana rancher Jodi Pierson (hence the name ‘Jodi’), just eight miles from the “Dueling Dinosaurs” site, “Jodi” was then excavated by the renowned Clayton Phipps, known as the “Dinosaur Cowboy”, along with of his then-11 year old son Luke Phipps, his cousin Jodi Pierson and her husband Kelly, as well as Nathan Cooper, Katie Busch, and Chris Morrow. No stranger to Nanotyrannus, Clayton Phipps also famously excavated the exceptional “Dueling Dinosaurs.”
The result caps a remarkable year for dinosaur sales at Sotheby’s, following the record-breaking sale of “Gus” this July for $50.1M, the most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction.
Main Image: Courtesy Sotheby's