 In 2000, Siefker sold the fossil at auction in San Francisco through the auction house Butterfield & Butterfield, despite concerns from paleontologists that the sale could render the specimen unavailable for scientific study.The fossil sold for US$167,000, only half of its appraised value, to Dick Spight of California.That same year, Spight donated the "Icarosaurus" holotype back to the AMNH, where it was put on display 7 October 2000.