The T. rex skeleton sold for $31.8 million in 2020 was named Stan. It was discovered in 1987 in South Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation and excavated in 1992 by the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research.
Stan is one of the most complete T. rex specimens ever found, preserving more than 70 percent of its original bones. Its name comes from Stan Sacrison, the amateur paleontologist who discovered it.
Christie’s sold the fossil in New York on October 6, 2020. The anonymous buyer paid $31.8 million, making Stan the most expensive fossil ever sold at that time. The record later passed to Apex, a Stegosaurus specimen, in 2024.
Common mix-ups include Sue, the famous T. rex displayed at Chicago’s Field Museum, and Scotty, another exceptionally large T. rex. Trix is also a T. rex, but it was not the specimen sold in the 2020 auction.