'Montana Dueling Dinosaurs' to sell at NYC auction
by Ula Ilnytzky
In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, photo, Clayton Phipps points out some features of the nanotyrannus lancensis he discovered while the fossils are on display in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, photo, Clayton Phipps points out some features of the nanotyrannus lancensis he discovered while the fossils are on display in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
(AP)鈥擳wo fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are going on the auction block in New York City. They're expected to fetch between $7 million and $9 million.
The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the "Montana Dueling Dinosaurs." The sellers say the dinosaurs鈥攐ne a plant eater, the other a meat eater鈥攁ppear to be locked in mortal combat.
They're being sold as one lot at Bonhams auction house on Tuesday.
The skeletons were discovered by a fossil hunter on a neighbor's ranch in an area where dinosaurs once roamed.
The sellers believe one may be a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex. The other may be a new species similar to Triceratops.
In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, photo, the lower leg of a ceratopsian is displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, photo, the lower leg of a ceratopsian is displayed in New York. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, photo, a model that recreates the position that two dinosaurs were discovered in is displayed in New York, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
× close
In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, photo, a model that recreates the position that two dinosaurs were discovered in is displayed in New York, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. Two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a Montana ranch in 2006 are coming up for sale in New York City. The nearly complete skeletons are billed as the Montana Dueling Dinosaurs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
They hope a philanthropist buys them and donates them to a public institution.