How about getting an “antique” that is over 10,000 years old and a unique set? How can you appraise the value of a thing that was never sold before? Many auction houses that sell antiques and collectibles have special auctions for precious stones, taxidermied animals, garden statuary shells and natural history items. On November 21, Summers Place Auctions in England will auction four mammoth skeletons identified as a family—a father, mother, nine-year old daughter and one-year-old baby. Only one other baby mammoth has ever been found and a family group is rare. The buyer cannot be from the United States or China because of their ivory-trade laws. Even very old mammoth tusks are forbidden ivory under the new laws meant to save endangered live elephants. The auction price for the skeletons could be over $1 million. A single skeleton sold for over $200,000 a few years ago. The mother’s height is 6 1/2 feet and from head to tail is a few feet longer. She weighs about 3 tons. The successful bidder should be a museum or someone with a very large house.

 

 Photo: Summers Place Auctions