T-Rex earns big bids at B.C. dino auction

Dino fans from across the world bid on life-sized animatronic dinosaurs at a Langley auction Thursday (Aug. 6).

While many of the large models fetched thousands of dollars, the big seller was a Tyrannosaurus rex, which ended up fetching $40,000.

Also going for big bucks was a 72-foot-long Brontosaurus, which went for $26,000.

Able Auctions president, Jeremy Dodd, said most of the dinosaurs sold in the range of $8,000 to $18,000 to a variety of businesses.

“We had zoos, we had museums, we had liquor stores, and we had restaurants bidding on these items,” he said.

“We had had one guy in Alberta who bought a dinosaur to put up as an exhibit in the small town he lives in,” Dodd added.

“He just wanted to put up an exhibit that he thought his neighbours would like.”

There were 550 items total in the lot, which also included fossils, as well as lighting and sound equipment to show the creatures.

The collection became available when a company that exhibited the items went bankrupt a couple months ago.

The entire auction was held online, and the majority of the lots were sold to buyers from Alberta, Dodd said.