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Private Collectors' Black Market Conspiracy!!
Turns out there's a huge International Black Market for fossils and atrifacts.
The History Channel's "The Link" confirms.
The shows trasncript has yet to be posted.
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The fossil was found in two parts by amateur fossil hunters in 1983. It
eventually made its way through fossil dealers to the research team.
She was cleaned and set in polyester resin - and incredibly, was hung on a mystery German collector's wall for 20 years.
Sky News sources say the owner had no idea of the unique fossil's
significance and simply admired it like a cherished Van Gogh or Picasso painting.
But in 2006, Ida came into the hands of private dealer Thomas Perner, who
presented her to Prof Hurum at the annual Hamburg Fossil and Mineral Fair in
Germany - a centre for the murky world of fossil-trading.
He says he knew she should be saved for science
rather than end up hidden from the world in a wealthy private collector's vault.
But the dealer's asking price was more than $1 million (£660,000) - ten times
the amount even the rarest of fossils fetch on the black market.
Eventually, after six months of negotiations, he managed to raise the cash in
Norway and brought Ida to Oslo.
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"No contaban con mi astucia!"
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