Alaskan collector cosigns prehistoric bear skull to auction house

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A caramel-colored skull of an ancient cave bear, believed to be at least 60,000 years old and is up for auction in Anchorage.

The Alaska Auction Company received the skull from a local collector. Alaska Auction manager Megan Mosesian said they’ve worked with this particular consigner frequently through the years and have seen several fossil pieces pass hands. The cave bear skull currently available is actually the second that’s come through the auction house, and according to Mosesian, it’s much bigger and in much better condition.

Cave bears, a prehistoric bear species whose remains are typically found in caves, are believed to have been herbivorous, according to Mosesian. “Even though they have these huge fangs,” Mosesian said while describing the high-quality preservation of the skull in question.

“This one in particular has a unique color and it has a very unique size,” Mosesian said. “Most cave bear skulls, the average of the length between the gum line and the crust is about 15 to 20 inches. This one is 23 inches, so it’s a very big guy.”

Mosesian said the skull’s atypical light brown coloration is likely due to the minerals it was resting in, which prevented fossilization.

“It sort of caramelized, is what I was told,” Mosesian said.

With a full set of molars and intact top and bottom, Mosesian calls the piece “museum quality.”

The skull is up for auction until March 20, and Mosesian said it’s been wildly popular online.

“When authentic pieces come through and they can be well tracked, they’re definitely highly sought after,“ Mosesian said, ”when we post something on the auction, we can see how many people like, watch it, or flag it… I’d say this one’s probably gotten 3000% more engagement than other lots or similar fossil lots.”

Mosesian estimated the approximate retail value of the skull near $30,000, and said they’ve already conducted dozens of private viewings with potential buyers.

“We’re just so thrilled to get it through auction. I kind of hope it stays in Alaska, but of course it’s up for anyone in the world,” Mosesian said. “We ship all over the world, but the majority of our customers are, of course, Alaskan-based.”

Mosesian said while she is not a collector of fossils, pieces of ancient history make the study of the past more interesting to her.

“I think that finding physical pieces that you can interact with that show these things that once were,” Mosesian said. “To me at least, I understand the appeal as someone who would want to a preserve something that is long extinct, and then also to kind of be transported back to a time that is very different from what we exist in now.”

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