Around 67 million years ago, a massive prehistoric tyrant that was around 40 feet long, a little under 16 feet tall and an estimated seven to eight tons was hunting for a meal in what is now known as the Hell Creek Formation. This massive beast had serrated teeth that were over 11 inches long and could exert up to six tons of pressure into a single bite.
No, this isn’t an abomination from an H.P. Lovecraft book. This beast was a living and breathing creature from a time long ago: this is a Tyrannosaurus rex.
On Wednesday, September 16, 2020, Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti announced that one of the largest and most complete T-rex fossils nicknamed Stan will be put up for auction on October 6, 2020. The company estimates that the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton will sell for anywhere between six to eight million dollars. Until it is auctioned off, the 188 boned skeleton will be displayed out in the middle of the Rockefeller Center in New York City. The skeleton being displayed at the Rockefeller Center allows the general public to be able to see a long-gone creature that once roamed on the same soil that we walk on. As much as I appreciate the fact that Christie’s is putting the skeleton in a public area to allow everyone to view it, the whole ordeal made me think about how historic relics that are being auctioned off to private collectors is a bad idea for everyone.
I believe that when one-of-a-kind historical relics are sold to private collectors, they are being pried away from the public. History is something that shouldn’t be hidden away in a dark corner in a room of some millionaire’s mansion; history should be freely accessible to everyone. Whether the relic has a dark or deep and meaningful past to it, the item should be displayed for everyone to learn about its significance.
I do think that there are some criteria that defines a historical relic. The first requirement is that the relic must have an important historical significance. The second requirement is that the relic can teach a lesson about history to everyone. The third requirement is that the item has very few genuine copies of it or it is a one-of-a-kind artifact. I feel like these three requirements are important to deciding what can be sold off because it gives a precedent on how to decide what can be sold and what cannot be sold. For example, if an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus that contained the mummy of a king was found, it shouldn’t be sold off because it can provide more vital information to archaeologists about the past, and in turn, the public.
I feel like before historic relics are put up for sale for private collectors to purchase, the auction houses should have to follow some guidelines beforehand. At the end of my life, I wish to see a world where everyone can walk into any museum and look at and learn about how the world looked before they were born.
Andrew Chase can be contacted at:
opinions@kscequinox.com
