Whale Tooth Question
 

Somewhere, I have a whale tooth that I remember getting on Nantucket in the early 60's. It has no carving or scrimshaw work. Just the tooth I believe from a sperm whale. Does anyone know the laws regarding these? I want to know if I am free to sell it and am beginning to research it. Please don't quote this post in your response until we clarify what the laws are.....

varies from state to state and particularly transporting or shipping from state to state....if you bought it in nantucket in the 60's pre-ban(73 I think) it's likely much older than that, value depends on the size and the age on these is pretty obvious, most that are average size that you see at antique shows etc. and are undecorated are 100-300 dollars in good condition...you should contact a reputable marine antique dealer or auction house if you want to sell it particularly if it's a large one and unpolished.. I can suggest a few depending on where you live

My dad used to do scrimshaw for a jewelery shop on nantucket in the 70's, and he still does small stuff for lightship baskets, I'll ask him today, he probly knows

So this isnt official or anything, but he says the law in 76 made it illegal to sell any kind of ivory that doesnt have documentation stating it was in the country before 76. Unless you have the receipt to go along with it, it might just be a good mantle piece
I guess one of my dad's old buddies who has an antique shop on nantucket bought some ivory from a russian guy in california... He's just finishing up a 2 year stint and paying thousands in fines...

THere's a maritime book buyer and seller in New Bedford. Last time I was in his shop he had a lot of whaling stuff, including teeth. He might know a thing or two. Not sure of the name of his store. He's tied in with one of the big mills that you can see from 195.

they're sold all of the time, you just have to make sure it's done properly and documented, the concern is newer stuff and illegal trade of modern endanger species parts, most of these teeth were harvested during the height of the whaling trade in the mid-late 19th century..., most of the "new' teeth and scrimshaw that you see in shops is resin, the guy on Nantucket was selling stuff brought in illegally by a guy from the Ukraine, he'd(Nantucket guy)been in business for a long time which makes it hard to say he didn't know, not too many years ago you'd see these everywhere at antique shows/shops along with an occasional Narwhal tusk which is pretty cool, seems like the last 10 or so years they've really stepped up enforcement though the ban and most of the rules are from'73...many auction houses won't accept bids from certain states now, particularly California, Eldred's on the Cape will only sell them to Mass residents....Goosefish, if you have concerns and depending on the quality of the tooth which if it's large(bigger than 6 or 7 inches) you could be talking about significantly more money than the 1/300 I mentioned, just contact or take it to Eldred's or Skinner's https://secure.skinnerinc.com/appraisals/form.asp, they deal with this stuff all of the time and have experts on staff, they'll tell you what it's worth and you can decide if it's worth selling considering the commission scale..the antique group shop that Nightfighter was referring to is Acushnet antiques

I'm guessing you bought that tooth a the Seven Seas on Centre Street. They had a bucket of sperm whale teeth bu the checkout back then. The teeth sold for a couple of bucks back then. Now, they're worth a ton.