Turns Out We Only Knew Half the Story Behind Cage Buying a Dinosaur Skull

It was big news when it came out – and why wouldn't it be? This was a major Hollywood star (who subsequently faced severe financial issues) buying a 70 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton.

Of course, the figure of $150 million was a bit of an exaggeration (he paid $276,000) and was actually his estimated net worth at his richest.

And his financial woes were blamed more on his property portfolio than the purchase of the dinosaur skull – but why let facts get in the way of a good headline?

Naturally, the story raised a number of questions about the sale. Like where the hell do you pick up a dinosaur skull, and why would you want one anyway.

The answer to the first question is at a Beverly Hills auction house (of course, it is), while the answer to the second question is not the obvious "because you can".

In fact, it was a result of the Leaving Las Vegas star finding an interest in mythology.

Now, you may remember that a major part of the story was that the actor (sorry, he likes to be called a thespian these days) had to return the skull to the Mongolian government after they explained that it had in fact been stolen.

Cage obliged and returned it as requested, saying "of course it should be awarded to its country of origin."

And his publicist was quick to point out that the star bought the piece at auction complete with what he was led to believe was a genuine certificate of authenticity. It only came to light that this was not the case when he received a call from the Dept. of Homeland Security.

But that's only half the story. Because he never got his money back. That's right. He spent $276,000 on a relic that he had to give away and has never received a dime in return.

In an interview with GQ magazine last year, Cage said (slightly tongue-in-cheek) that "somebody at the auction house should be in jail."

Now, he may not actually mean that. But you can understand why he might be just a little bit pi**ed. After all, even for a man whose net worth was once estimated at $150 million, an outlay of $276,000 on nothing is not an insignificant purchase.

Will he ever see that money again? Almost certainly not. Will anybody ever go to jail over the issue? Almost certainly not. But does he have a great story to tell? Absolutely!