$456,000. for this whale tooth, unreal! Full story at the link below. https://www.maineantiquedigest.com/events/scrimshaw-record-set-at-eldreds/6453
LOL, yeah, well obviously whale parts are not included in ban. I don't really know what the law is in this regard.
These were all historic pieces, well documented and with provenance, so maybe they fell under the pre-something allowance?
Not a clue! but, 1/2 a million bucks for one tooth? JESUS! I knew scrimshaw could be valuable but this is a very impressive number.
The national law says can sell the old stuff if it's documented, and odds are this had provenance out the ying yang. Some states don't let you sell any at all, but there might be an exception for something like the tooth.
HA!!!! Saw that in my MAD!!!! And you can if it's documented OLD enough and it has GOOD provenance.....and I THINK that's how it goes I also believe Burdett is one of the more famous scrimshanders as well!!!!!! I'd give an eye tooth for one of them or one of his!!!!! To Keep and pass on someday!!!!
A bit of poking around shows that only elephant ivory is banned. Mammoth ivory, walrus tusk, and sadly even narwhal ivory and anything else in the realm is still legal to sell.
That is some nice scrimshaw. I believe walrus is currently regulated, and is banned in some situations, though laws and regulations are quite complex; most marine and other ivory can't be shipped internationally; scrimshaw has separate rules, and sometimes may require a permit: "SPERM WHALE- An endangered species regulated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Importation for commercial purposes has been prohibited since 1973. Interstate sales of registered pre-act teeth with scrimshaw is allowed under a special federal permit. Unregistered pre-act teeth can no longer be registered and cannot be transported across interstate lines for commercial purposes. They can be sold intrastate as long as state law does not prohibit. Antique scrimshaw (100 years plus) can be sold interstate." "WALRUS (non-fossil)- Regulated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Raw walrus ivory predating the Dec. 21, 1972 law, tusks bearing the Alaska state walrus ivory registration tags or post-law walrus ivory that has been carved or scrimshawed by an Alaskan native (Eskimo) are legal to buy, possess, and sell. Raw walrus ivory obtained after 12/21/72 is not legal to buy or sell unless both parties are Eskimo (it is legal to own). A $30 export permit is required to ship walrus ivory or oosik (legal as per above) out of the United States." (From http://gustavus.com/heidi/laws.html also includes discussion of other CITES and US Fish and Wildlife rules) See also https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/buying-marine-mammal-products http://gaukartifact.com/2013/02/27/...hippo-mammoth-whale-teeth-warthog-and-walrus/
There is a lot of very nice contemporary scrimshaw being done in mammoth/fossil ivory, which is not regulated, and legal antique ivory. It can still be pretty expensive, though not in the half-million dollar range. For one, a guy in Bellingham WA is doing some nice work, well worth viewing (http://www.bellinghamscrimshaw.com/archives.htm) for example:
