Nicolas Cage Returns Dinosaur Head He Previously Bought For $276,000

Nicolas Cage gives up one of his treasure, a rare dinosaur skull that he bought in 2007 for $267,000 and is said to be illegally stolen and smuggled from Mongolia before it was auctioned.

The actor's decision to return the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar happened after a civil forfeiture complaint was released by Preet Bhahara's law firm in Manhattan, The Guardian reported.

The National Treasure actor was not mentioned in the lawsuit, however, he decided to voluntarily return the artifact after knowing the condition that the dinosaur skull that he bought from I.M. Chait, a Beverly Hills gallery has indeed been stolen.

Cage's publicist, Alex Schack, defended the actor saying that they received a certificate of authenticity back then. He also told the media that the actor has also been informed on July 2014 by the Department of Homeland Security expressing the possibility that the Tyrannosaurus bataar is the artifact that the Mongolian government has been looking for.

Further, the 51-year old actor is said to have cooperated with the investigation and inspection done by authorities before deciding to return the skull, according to WCVB.

"I'm surprised Nick Cage didn't challenge it," David Herskowitz, a natural history consultant and organizers of the 2007 auction who at that time believed in the authenticity and legal importation of the artifact from Central Asia.

During the investigation, it was learned that the bataar skull was transported via Japan by self-described commercial paleontologist Eric Prokopi. Prokopi has long since pleaded guilty for being involved in illegal transportation of fossil fuels and fraudulent possessions of other goods as Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported.

Cage was competing with Leonardo DiCaprio at that time to finally have the dinosaur skull.

This is not the first rare and expensive treasure that Nicolas has purchased. The Daily Beast reported that the actor is notorious for being a 'big spender' and for living the life of a sheik and has been known in his career for his compulsive shopping sprees, "snapping up houses, motorcycles, a jet, yachts, vintage and new cars, expensive watches, meteorites, dinosaur skulls, an enormous pet collection, massive amounts of jewelry for the women in his life, group vacations for his entire entourage, and on and on and on..."