Nicolas Cage is a true treasure hunter who appreciates the importance of national treasure, similar to his role in the "National Treasure" movies, perhaps.
The Oscar winner, star of "Con Air" and "Face Off," bought a stolen Tyrannosaurus bataar skull in 2007, reports BBC. However, the actor was not aware that it has been a stolen. He purchased the skull for $276,000 (£185,000) from a Beverley Hills gallery. He was issued with a certificate of authenticity, hence the actor did not think anything was amiss.
At that time of the sale, Cage outbid actor Leonardo DiCaprio, according to reports.
The actor's publicist, Alex Shack, said that Cage was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security way back in 2014 and was told that the skull might have been stolen. Now that it has been determined that it has indeed been taken illegally from Mongolia, he has decided to return it, even if he or the gallery is not being accused of anything. It will first be turned over the US government before it is repatriated to Mongolia.
BBC further adds that Preet Bharara, a US Attorney located in Manhattan, filed a civil forfeiture complaint to take possession of the Tyrannosaurus bataar skull last week.
In related news, US fossils dealer Eric Prokopi has spent three months in jail for dinosaur bones from Mongolia including the ones similar to what Cage purchased. It remains unclear, however, if the one he bought can be traced back to Prokopi who is dubbed as "one-man black market in prehistoric fossils" by New York Prosecutors.
Associated Press reported that the 32-inch-long skull is 67 million years old and just one of the skulls among dozens of dinosaur skeletons that have been returned to Mongolia since 2012. It is also extremely rare.
The export of dinosaur fossils has been criminalised in Mongolia since 1924.