Money Maker: Old Duck Decoy
I think I have officially made my best estate sale score ever. You might remember my mini Tigers nodder that sold for $429. That was awesome, but I had to make a pretty hefty upfront investment on that little guy. Recently though, I bought an old handcarved duck decoy for a mere $10.
I knew that old decoys were valuable, but I had NO CLUE how valuable. Here’s how it all went down:
$400 for a wood duck? Incredible.
Turns out that I had a good eye on this one, but also a bit of dumb luck. The maker of this duck is a renowned Michigan carver, and jacked the price up considerably. After the auction ended, I contacted the buyer to ask him a bit more about the duck. Here is his response:
Hi Erin, That decoy was by a recognized carver who made his decoys in the “Detroit” style of carving. That school (style) of carving was done by quite a few people in and around the Detroit, MI area. It is recognized by alot of wing and feather carving. Neil Smith was not a real well known decoy maker from the area, however the bird was in very nice original condition, with no bad dings, chips, original paint with no repairs, etc. In other words, the decoy was in excellent condition and in a style that is desirable to alot of Michigan decoy collectors. I was surprised that it took off to that amount myself, however, the price was fair for a bird of that condition. I am looking forward to getting it, and already have a spot on my shelf picked out where it will sit.
Very cool. I particularly love that he had a spot picked out for the duck. When I buy stuff, I always imagine first where I can display it.
So keep your eyes out for old duck decoys everyone!
-Erin