SOUTH WALES AUCTIONEER TO SELL

CLUTCH OF DINOSAUR EGGS

‘The oldest things we’ve ever offered’ – Ben Rogers Jones

With Easter just around the corner, it’s no wonder the supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of chocolate eggs. Even Cardiff auctioneers Rogers Jones Co are getting in on the trend ... except a clutch coming up in a sale of antiques and fine art on Friday April 4 are fossilised dinosaur eggs.

Dating from the Cretaceous period, that makes the seven eggs, pictured with auctioneer Ben Rogers Jones, somewhere between 65 and 145 million years ago. They were discovered in the Gobi desert in China and belong to a collector living in West Wales who acquired them more than 10 years ago. China has now stopped exports of similar natural history specimens, making the eggs even harder to obtain.

The Cretaceous period was an era of with relatively warm climates and high sea levels which created numerous shallow inland seas, while dinosaurs ruled on land, ending with mass extinction due to changing global conditions.

What prevented the eggs from hatching is not known, even the identity of the creature that laid them is uncertain – it would take an experienced palaeontologist to know for sure – but bids of £3,200-3,800 are expected when they go under the hammer.

Said Ben Rogers Jones: “Our business revolves around auctioning antiques but these are easily the oldest we have ever offered for sale. We expect a scramble to buy them, perhaps someone looking for a nest-egg.”

For further information, please contact the auctioneer on 02920 708125 orcardiffinfo@rogersjones.co.uk