KOLLER VIEW 4/23

22 Petrified giants Preview of the ‘Out of This World III’ auction on 4 December 2023 Collecting dinosaurs and extra-terrestrial artefacts goes far beyond scientific investigation. It is a passion, a journey that invites adventurers to cross eras, trav- el over millions of years and explore the nature of our planet’s evolution. In our 4 December auction we present a variety of exceptional fossils, including a completely preserved fossilised skeleton of a crocodile which is approxi- mately 50 million years old (ill. 1). The Mes- sel Pit near Darmstadt, where 1 C rocodylia. Eocene, circa 50 million years. Messel, Germany. 55 × 135 × 9 cm. Estimate: CHF 160 000/280 000 2 A fossil Triceratops skull. Triceratops horridus. Juvenile specimen. 65 million years. Wyoming, USA. 70–75% original bone mass. Circa 130 × 75 cm. Estimate: CHF 300 000/500 000 3 A pollo 13 space-flown microfilm Bible owned by astronaut Fred Haise, Florida, 1970. 4.1 × 4 cm. Estimate: CHF 28 000/35 000 this skeleton was found, is one of the most important fossil sites in the world. Millions of years ago, the lake was characterised by lush flora and fauna, and unique fossils have been preserved in the oil shale. This nat- ural monument is now protected as a World Heritage Site. Even older than the crocodile is the skull of a young Triceratops dinosaur that liv ed approximately 65 million years ago (ill. 2). Its n ame refers to its striking anatomical features: the imposing bony collar, the h orny beak and the three cra nial horns. The discovery of juven ile specimens with their delicate bones is extremely rare. The quality of the bones in our specimen is excellent, showing a rich tex ture and a wonder- ful warm brown colour. Almost all of the important parts of the skull were recovered during the excava- tion; it is estimated to be 70–75% original. Microfilmed copies of the Bible accompanied the US spacecraft Apollo 13 on its jo urney to the moon (ill. 3). The mis sion, which took place from 11 to 17 April 1970, was unable t o complete the planned moo n landing due to a serious technical incident. The astronauts’ radio me ssage to Mission C ontrol, ‘Houston, we've had a prob- lem’, has become legendary. Very few complete copies of these Bi- bles exist today . One is in the Vat- ican Apostolic L ibrary, another in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OUT OF THIS WORLD Christian Link link@kollerauctions.com ONLINE CATALOGUES www.kollerauctions.com the Smithsonian in Washington DC. The copy offered here comes from the private collection of Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Wallace Haise Jr. 1 3 2