can you get money for finding a dinosaur fossil?

Answer 1

depending on the fossil - large skulls and such sell for over 4 grand or more.....

Answer 2

Finding Dinosaur Bones

Answer 3

Yes. At a 2010 auction, a rare humerus bone from the upper arm of an ornithopod sold for nearly $4,000. And to the person who said you "don't stumble over bones...", it's fairly rare, but it has happened more than once. There are MANY, MANY locations that are that old "at ground level". They are not rare. But dinosaur bones are somewhat rare. I have seen science shows that have covered finds like that, and the TV show "American Pickers" recently featured a tibia of an ornithopod found in a washed out river bank in Mississippi that has geology of about 65 mya. They primarily lived in North America, but have been found on all seven continents.

Answer 4

You would have had to get a grant to look for the fossil in the first place. Fossils don't just pop up in your backyard or when you're kicking around some dirt clods. There are very specific sites you have to look to find actual DINOSAUR fossils; lands that have been dated to between roughly 230 and 65 million years ago are the only sites that will have any. When paleontologists search for fossils, it takes millions of dollars in grants just to organize a project (and even then, most of them don't find anything very notable). So technically you don't even get paid for the fossil, you have to request money just to try to look for one.

Answer 5

If government finds you found a t rex skeleton then they would take it. You won't get anything. Because if they don't take it, then you would sell it for several millions and they can't get the money.

Answer 6

There are government programs which hand out what are called grants to scientific researchers. To apply for a government grant check for the proper forms in your local library and ask the librarian if they know more on it. So if you found one fossil there may be many more in that same general area and the money you get from the government could be thousands of dollars to pay for excavation and digging equipment, brushes, employees, and similar expenses.

Answer 7

On your own land.. probably not. They're actually quite common. Maybe if you could persuid someone to buy it as a souvenir, or sell it to a souvenir shop. Otherweise unless it's a fantastic, complete or unique fossil, it may as well just go on your shelf.

Answer 8

It is possible. A T-Rex found in Utah sold for $8.4 million. There was a lawsuit over ownership of it. The owner of the property where it was found received the rights to it.

Here are a couple of Ebay links of fossils that sold for lesser but still considerable amounts.

http://cgi.ebay.com/triassica-PSITTACOSAURUS-skeleton-REAL-dinosaur-fossil_W0QQitemZ330038617272QQihZ014QQcategoryZ15915QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Museum-Quality-Triassic-Ichthyosaurus-Fossil_W0QQitemZ190039543807QQihZ009QQcategoryZ15915QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/FOSSIL-DINICTIS-SABRE-TOOTH-CAT-SKULL-KILLER-CANINES_W0QQitemZ270040829577QQihZ017QQcategoryZ3216QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Placenticeras-Meeki-Whole-AMMOLITE-AMMONITE-FOSSIL_W0QQitemZ250043024108QQihZ015QQcategoryZ3217QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Now mind you, these are all exceptional specimens. They are in good condition and are rare. Bits of dinosaur bone is not worth much. You can buy it by the pound at rock shows. Complete bones and skeletons can possibly sell but you have to spend years in the business before you can really start to guage how much to sell them for. Even then, don't expect to get rich. Finding a million dollar dinosaur is like the lottery.

Answer 9

Not usually. If you find a big enough one, and you have some training, you could get a grant to continue searching, but not usually as a finders fee. If it is an extraodinary sample, sometimes museums may buy it from you.

Answer 10

It depends on where you found the fossil, whether or not you owned the lands or mineral rights to that land, and how significant the fossil find is.

In some parts of the world, for example Alberta, Canada, where the largest concentration of late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils are found, the mineral rights for almost all lands (except for a few homesteads) are held by the Alberta Government. Therefore, they own all fossils found on any land (even if you own the land). Instead of getting a monetary reward, you can incur a serious fine for disturbing a fossil site without proper authorization. Museums and palaeontologists must have authorization to carry out digs, and the fossils are still technically property of the government, but the scientists essentially get custody of them to study them.

In other areas, if you find dinosaur fossils on your property, they are yours, and you can do with them what you like. If you can interest a museum or even a private collector to pay you money for them, it's perfectly legal, and if it is a significant or important find, you may be able to get quite a lot of money for it. It cost the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago several million dollars to acquire the nearly complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed 'Sue'.

Check out your local legislations before fossil hunting. It could mean the difference between a lucrative business opportunity or a sizable fine, criminal record, and possibly even jail time.