Mummified walrus penis brings more than you’d think, but less than expected.
Lot 127 a Standout
The August 26th Natural History Auction at I.M. Chait Gallery in Los Angeles featured enough specimens to warm a Paleontologists heart. On offer were fossilized wooly Mammoth tusks, T-Rex teeth, Triceratops horns, dinosaur egg clusters, palm fronds, Ammonites, and Trilobites. But it was Lot 127 that garnered the most attention, listed in the catalog as “Huge fossil penis with preserved skin.”
Celebrity Fossil Collectors
The four foot long penis, technically a penis bone called a bacula, belonged to a species of walrus that has been extinct for 12,000 years. It was found preserved in the permafrost in Northern Siberia. Pre-sale estimates put it at $16,000-22,000. Although the market for giant fossilized penises is somewhat limited, fossil collecting is extremely popular, especially with Hollywood celebrities who tend to have deep pockets. Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Nicholas Cage and Harrison Ford all collect fossils, although the gallery won’t disclose if any of them bid on the baculum.
Penis Auction Flops
The bidding for the baculum was concentrated between three hopeful buyers. The winning bid was submitted by the company that owns The Ripley Believe It or Not Museums, who paid $8,000, half the pre-sale estimate, and purchased the penis for traveling exhibits. Believe it or not.
