Jurassic-Era Dinosaur Dung Fetches Nearly $1,000 at Auction
Thursday, May 01, 2008
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AP
In this photo released in New York by Bonhams Auction House, two specimens of Coprolite, or dinosaur dung, are shown.
In this photo released in New York by Bonhams Auction House, two specimens of Coprolite, or dinosaur dung, are shown.
NEW YORK — A pile of dinosaur dung 130 million years old sold at a New York auction for nearly $1,000.
The prehistoric deposit fetched $960 at Wednesday's auction, said a spokeswoman for Bonhams New York. Its pre-auction estimate was $450.
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The fossilized dung is from the Jurassic era, the auction house said. It looks like a rock on the outside and a colorful mineral inside.
The buyer was Steve Tsengas of Fairport Harbor, Ohio. The 71-year-old owns OurPets, a company that sells products to treat dog and cat waste.
Tsengas bought the dung in hopes of motivating his employees and using it as a marketing tool by displaying it at the company's booth at trade shows, he said.
"Poop," he said, "is a big business in the pet industry."
The natural history auction also included an 18-carat gold box shaped like a crab by lapidary artist Manfred Wild. It sold for $168,000.
Meteorites from the collection of Ron Oriti sold for $95,313.
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