In this undated photo released in New York by Bonhams Auction House, two specimens of Coprolite, or fossilized dinosaur dung, are shown. The items are among other geological artifacts that will be offered at auction by Bonhams in New York on Wednesday, April 30, 2008.
(AP Photo/Bonhams Auction House)
Dinosaur dung sells at NYC auction for nearly $1,000
In this undated photo released in New York by Bonhams Auction House, two specimens of Coprolite, or fossilized dinosaur dung, are shown. The items are among other geological artifacts that will be offered at auction by Bonhams in New York on Wednesday, April 30, 2008.
(AP Photo/Bonhams Auction House)
NEW YORK—A pile of dinosaur dung 130 million years old sold at a New York auction Wednesday for nearly $1,000.
The prehistoric deposit fetched $960, said a spokeswoman for Bonhams New York. Its pre-auction estimate was $450.
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."
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