July Auctions: T. Rex Record, Rembrandt, Wicked Witch Hat, and More
In July, notable sales were reported by various auction houses. Sotheby's New York hosted Geek Week, where a T. Rex skeleton named "Gus" fetched over $50 million, surpassing the former record of $44.6 million set by "Apex." In London, Sotheby's auctioned Rembrandt's "Let the Little Children Come unto Me" for £8,000,000 and Memling's "The Virgin Mary Nursing the Christ Child" for £3,506,000. On July 14, Heritage Auctions sold the black hat worn by Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard of Oz" for $550,000. Additionally, Christie's New York sold a handwritten letter from George Washington for $2,759,000 and Buzz Aldrin's pen from Apollo 11 for $857,600, along with a game-used ball from the 2026 World Cup Final for $110,000.
Key facts
- Sotheby's New York sold the T. Rex skeleton "Gus" for over $50 million, breaking the dinosaur bone record.
- The previous dinosaur record of $44.6 million was held by the stegosaurus "Apex," on loan to the American Museum of Natural History.
- Rembrandt's "Let the Little Children Come unto Me" sold for £8,000,000 at Sotheby's London.
- Hans Memling's "The Virgin Mary Nursing the Christ Child" sold for £3,506,000 at Sotheby's London.
- The Wicked Witch of the West hat from "The Wizard of Oz" sold for $550,000 at Heritage Auctions on July 14.
- George Washington's letter to Thomas Jefferson sold for $2,759,000 at Christie's New York.
- Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 pen sold for $857,600 at Sotheby's New York.
- The game-used ball from the 2026 World Cup Final sold for $110,000 at Christie's.
Entities
Artists
- Rembrandt van Rijn
- Hans Memling
- Margaret Hamilton
- Adrian
- Buzz Aldrin
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- John Paul Jones
- Lionel Messi
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- Christie's
- Heritage Auctions
- American Museum of Natural History
Locations
- New York
- London
- Paris
- Los Angeles
- France