Major UK Fossil Collection Sold to Abu Dhabi Museum
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- Chris Moore's collection of 318 Jurassic fossils — including ichthyosaurs, fish, and crustaceans from the Lower Lias of Lyme Regis and Charmouth — was sold to the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and went on display there in November 2025.
- The Natural History Museum in London and Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales) both declined to buy the collection, with one email suggesting NHM had "no money at all" for acquisitions; the asking price was described by one source as an "eight-figure sum."
- University of Birmingham palaeobiologist Richard Butler called it "one of the most important collections of fossils ever made on the world-famous Jurassic Coast" and described the loss as a blow to UK public engagement with natural heritage.
- UK law does not classify scientifically important fossils as "treasure" the way archaeological finds are; under the West Dorset collecting code, category 1 specimens must be offered to UK museums for six months before being sold elsewhere — but the code is not legally binding.
- Auction market scale was underscored by Stan the T rex's $31.8M sale in 2020 and Gus's $50.1M Sotheby's sale in July — both far beyond museum budgets, with Stan also now housed at the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi.
- Stuttgart State Museum vertebrate expert Erin Maxwell said the loss is "somewhat offset" by the collection going to a public museum rather than a private buyer, and called for a state right of first refusal at cost-based pricing before export.
Why it matters: The sale exposes a structural funding gap: UK museums cannot match eight-figure sums demanded by private collectors, and unlike archaeological finds, fossils are not classified as treasure — leaving scientifically vital specimens legally exportable. With Stan ($31.8M) and Gus ($50.1M) setting market benchmarks and no legally binding retention mechanism, the Jurassic Coast's fossil heritage is migrating abroad.
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