How can you tell if your whale tooth carving is real and or value?

Answer 1

Weight, color and texture of Whale ivories is really not so difficult to tell from substances poured into casts. The base is a sure way to tell--Ivory grows in annular rings, or depending upon how a piece of ivory tooth is cut or shaped, it may appear to be layered. When polished and lighted from one side or angle, it should show internal texturing of color to even a minute degree. Ivory is in thin layers and near thin or sharp corners, slightly translucent.

Do not expect to find very many actual whaling artifacts out there on the market. Honestly, there are more fake whale tooth carvings than there ever were whales themselves.

Reproduction-pieces should be valued at no more than $25-$75, and original carvings are considerably more valuable.

If unsure still, do a Google search of the ship or theme or writing on the piece, in a search starting with 'Whaling Ivory' followed by your available data.

Many pieces are replicas of actual ivories....if this is so, you can usually look at images of the original.