African Lion Full Mount For Sale

[Hunt anything]

This thread got my curiosity gene up, I looked up a place that sells taxidermy (Safari Works) not sure where they are located but some of the prices they are asking is amazing. Some look way too high and some seem way too low. In reality it’s only worth what someone will pay for it. But not sure why you would want a trophy that you didn’t kill anyway. Maybe to replace a lost or damaged trophy?

 

[buck wild]

This thread got my curiosity gene up, I looked up a place that sells taxidermy (Safari Works) not sure where they are located but some of the prices they are asking is amazing. Some look way too high and some seem way too low. In reality it’s only worth what someone will pay for it. But not sure why you would want a trophy that you didn’t kill anyway. Maybe to replace a lost or damaged trophy?

There might be a niche market for a lion mount to the U.S. hunters who are unable to get their lion imported. I could see interested parties in that scenario. Obviously there are folks paying big money for those newer replica lion mounts. I see this as a better alternative to that.

 

[rookhawk]

Thanks but Unless the laywer can help establish what a full mount like this is " worth" , I dont think so. If and when the owner sell it , it will be within the laws if any. It was imported legally , hunted legally and mounted by renowned taxidermist legally.

Taxidermy is worth very little. There is an auction company in Missouri "Lolly brothers" <sp?> that does the biggest auction.

Who buys used taxidermy at any price?

1.) Decorators for commercial businesses and homes

2.) Cheapskates like me that will pluck the horns off a really good specimen, insert my own, and have a taxidermist "refinish" the mount to look like my hunted animal with my horns attached. Those have to be A++ quality, horned/antlered, and $150 to get me to consider the juice worth the squeeze.

Taxidermy is generally out of fashion to the general public, offensive to half the population, and the whole point of getting it done in the first place was to memorialize an amazing experience of the original hunter. You cannot resell the experience and the personalization of taxidermy, only the old leather and a plastic form underneath it.

If you had someone willing to give $3000-$5000 in-State for your Lion and you were sure it was legal to sell it, I'd snatch those benjamins so fast you'd only see a blur. While a seller dilly-dallies looking for more money, they are drawing more scrutiny from the public all while a new potential law or ordinance gets passed making it worthless.

If you can find a legal sale based on Federal and State laws on it, I'd sell it right quick before someone points you to some other local ordinance that prohibits it.

 

[ActionBob]

There might be a niche market for a lion mount to the U.S. hunters who are unable to get their lion imported. I could see interested parties in that scenario. Obviously there are folks paying big money for those newer replica lion mounts. I see this as a better alternative to that.

Exactly what I was thinking

However I would think $5000 to $10,000. Even $3000 is better than nothing but I would test the waters a bit before taking that little.

Are there any tax breaks available by donating to a museum or something similar?

 

[rookhawk]

Are there any tax breaks available by donating to a museum or something similar?

As a kid I went to the Milwaukee museum for a private tour of the warehouses. I saw no less than 25 lions stacked on top of each other shoved in a 3-story basement. 5% of all museum items are on display at any one item.

Even many of the hides from the 1900s Roosevelt expedition still remain untanned to this day at the Field Museum in Chicago. If your name isn't Teddy or Kermit, you have zero chance of museum interest because even their stuff is sitting salted in a warehouse 115 years after their hunt.

 

[Jason Miller]

random question,,, Are the feet of the lion level with the pedestal, in other words, if you removed the lion from the pedestal would it stand on the floor?

 

[ActionBob]

For someone who wants to do a CBL lion AND have a mount, this could be a great option. I'll bet that someone like @PHOENIX PHIL could help sort out a lion that closely resembles this mount.

And do it at a significantly lower cost than it would have been a few years ago.

A good taxidermist could even remount this into a different pose if someone wanted. Probably still at a lower cost than getting a skin imported, shipped and tanned.

 

[R.M.C.]

As a kid I went to the Milwaukee museum for a private tour of the warehouses. I saw no less than 25 lions stacked on top of each other shoved in a 3-story basement. 5% of all museum items are on display at any one item.

Even many of the hides from the 1900s Roosevelt expedition still remain untanned to this day at the Field Museum in Chicago. If your name isn't Teddy or Kermit, you have zero chance of museum interest because even their stuff is sitting salted in a warehouse 115 years after their hunt.

My buddy saw the same thing putting security cameras in our local museum/ historical society. Loads of old muskets and indian artifacts that don't appear anywhere else in the public part of the building. Seemed like they put out all the generic shit and left everything else locked up in a warehouse. I wouldn't donate anything if it wasn't gonna be on display.

 

[Wheels]

As a kid I went to the Milwaukee museum for a private tour of the warehouses. I saw no less than 25 lions stacked on top of each other shoved in a 3-story basement. 5% of all museum items are on display at any one item.

Even many of the hides from the 1900s Roosevelt expedition still remain untanned to this day at the Field Museum in Chicago. If your name isn't Teddy or Kermit, you have zero chance of museum interest because even their stuff is sitting salted in a warehouse 115 years after their hunt.

+1

The Kilimanjaro bull, largest ivory ever taken, sat for decades in the basement of the British Museum of Natural History. Thankfully about 20 years ago they put it on display.

Elgin Gates had one of the best taxidermy collection of all time. He is the only person I am aware of to have taken two, 150 lb elephant. His collection sets in the basement of a building at the University of Nebraska and the curators won't let individuals even have a private viewing.

 

[Rare Breed]

Taxidermy is worth very little. There is an auction company in Missouri "Lolly brothers" <sp?> that does the biggest auction.

Who buys used taxidermy at any price?

1.) Decorators for commercial businesses and homes

2.) Cheapskates like me that will pluck the horns off a really good specimen, insert my own, and have a taxidermist "refinish" the mount to look like my hunted animal with my horns attached. Those have to be A++ quality, horned/antlered, and $150 to get me to consider the juice worth the squeeze.

Taxidermy is generally out of fashion to the general public, offensive to half the population, and the whole point of getting it done in the first place was to memorialize an amazing experience of the original hunter. You cannot resell the experience and the personalization of taxidermy, only the old leather and a plastic form underneath it.

If you had someone willing to give $3000-$5000 in-State for your Lion and you were sure it was legal to sell it, I'd snatch those benjamins so fast you'd only see a blur. While a seller dilly-dallies looking for more money, they are drawing more scrutiny from the public all while a new potential law or ordinance gets passed making it worthless.

If you can find a legal sale based on Federal and State laws on it, I'd sell it right quick before someone points you to some other local ordinance that prohibits it.

I have found out @rookhawk comments are spot on. My initial thoughts only because I recently helped my friend was $3,000 as shown by the one I shared on AH that just sold for $2850. However if it was me why not start out at your high price whatever that may be and just come down if it does not sell. What if someone wants it bad? Get the extra!!!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

For someone who wants to do a CBL lion AND have a mount, this could be a great option. I'll bet that someone like @PHOENIX PHIL could help sort out a lion that closely resembles this mount.

And do it at a significantly lower cost than it would have been a few years ago.

A good taxidermist could even remount this into a different pose if someone wanted. Probably still at a lower cost than getting a skin imported, shipped and tanned.

We haven’t to the best of my knowledge had a client request this, but I know it can be done and we’d get it figured out!

 

[Badjer]

Look at sites like all-taxidermy.com or the taxidermystore.com for ideas of price

 

[Mark Audino]

I can offer some insight. I recently helped the wife of a deceased hunter-friend liquidate a trophy collection of over 150 various species.

It's important to check state laws first because each state governs what can and cannot be sold across state lines or sold at all (e.g., post-ban elephants). Due to the size of the collection, I used a reputable auction house, Western Sportsman Auction, based in Ft. Worth Texas. They are absolute professionals with an on-line auction that reaches many more prospective bidders than a live auction that likely requires bidders to allocate time and expense for travel and hotel.

In this case, the collection was based in Pennsylvania. We had lions and leopards. We photographed them as you did in your post, took measurements and sent those details to Western Sportsman. They subsequently used the pictures in the item descriptions at auction time.

Western Sportsman picked up all the other trophies for a fee which they then deducted from the auction proceeds. The lions and leopards had to remain at her home and could only be bid on and sold to PA residents. Not only did they sell everything, the lions and leopards were verifiably sold to PA residents who picked them up once they settled with the auction house. Thinking through that still amazes me. It would have taken time and cost to find legitimate buyers of those lions and leopards if we went about selling them on our own.

I can also tell you that price is in the eye of the beholder. The bigger, more complex and more costly taxidermy specimens brought surprisingly less than expected. That can often be attributed to the physical space they might require. Still there are as many buyers out there as stars, some of whom will pay handsomely for a grand animal. In my experience over the years, many people don't know what good taxidermy should look like. So, even if an item has some "warts", things will generally sell. It comes down to the level of exposure to the right audience. The online auction gave us that exposure.

As a side note, I had asked Western Sportsman for estimates before the sale. They don't blow smoke and they were generally spot-on except for some good surprises. It might be helpful to know that Western Sportsman will also buy trophies outright, and they will auction single pieces and collections.

Auction is just an option. I will provide contact information for Logan Thomas at Western Sportsman in case it's ever needed by anyone. Email: logan@westernsportsman.auction. Phone: +1 832-829-0000. Good luck.

 

[Rich s]

This is why I’m thinking about not wasting my money on taxidermy on my upcoming safari. I’ve already got deer and elk mounts. As I get older I realize they don’t mean much to anyone but me. So I’m thinking I’ll save the taxidermy bill and the export expenses for something else. I think some great pictures will do my wife and kids just as well as having to deal with my mounts when I’m gone.

 

[Rare Breed]

I can offer some insight. I recently helped the wife of a deceased hunter-friend liquidate a trophy collection of over 150 various species.

It's important to check state laws first because each state governs what can and cannot be sold across state lines or sold at all (e.g., post-ban elephants). Due to the size of the collection, I used a reputable auction house, Western Sportsman Auction, based in Ft. Worth Texas. They are absolute professionals with an on-line auction that reaches many more prospective bidders than a live auction that likely requires bidders to allocate time and expense for travel and hotel.

In this case, the collection was based in Pennsylvania. We had lions and leopards. We photographed them as you did in your post, took measurements and sent those details to Western Sportsman. They subsequently used the pictures in the item descriptions at auction time.

Western Sportsman picked up all the other trophies for a fee which they then deducted from the auction proceeds. The lions and leopards had to remain at her home and could only be bid on and sold to PA residents. Not only did they sell everything, the lions and leopards were verifiably sold to PA residents who picked them up once they settled with the auction house. Thinking through that still amazes me. It would have taken time and cost to find legitimate buyers of those lions and leopards if we went about selling them on our own.

I can also tell you that price is in the eye of the beholder. The bigger, more complex and more costly taxidermy specimens brought surprisingly less than expected. That can often be attributed to the physical space they might require. Still there are as many buyers out there as stars, some of whom will pay handsomely for a grand animal. In my experience over the years, many people don't know what good taxidermy should look like. So, even if an item has some "warts", things will generally sell. It comes down to the level of exposure to the right audience. The online auction gave us that exposure.

As a side note, I had asked Western Sportsman for estimates before the sale. They don't blow smoke and they were generally spot-on except for some good surprises. It might be helpful to know that Western Sportsman will also buy trophies outright, and they will auction single pieces and collections.

Auction is just an option. I will provide contact information for Logan Thomas at Western Sportsman in case it's ever needed by anyone. Email: logan@westernsportsman.auction. Phone: +1 832-829-0000. Good luck.

Well done and excellent advice! My friends taxi was sold by an expert world wide auction house. I just added my experience in terms of the animals such as pointing out the kudu would score in the top 5% of any trophy score

 

[John9861]

I am a taxidermist in SC. The mount appears to be in above average condition. The base however needs to be replaced. The going price for someone wanting to buy it for decoration purposes is in the $2500 range. If someone is wanting to replace one for whatever reasons could be higher. Of course you might get lucky. All this being said if you find out the lion can cross state lines I would be interested. feel free to reach out if so.

 

[Safari Dave]

Personally, I have no interest in someone else's taxidermy and I would only pay a few pennies on the dollar for a world record for decoration in my store.

There are some guys that will pay big money for N.A. deer and elk racks, but I would not.



The Safari Lounge in Islamorada, FL needs some good taxidermy now. I was told they trashed most of theirs's, because "Bloodline" did some filming there.

I think we should take them "under our wing", help make the new owners rich.

We could make it the hangout of "real men" and real big game hunters.


There is nothing but iguanas to shoot down there, but there is some really good fishing.

 

[freefall]

20+ years ago The Lovely Mrs wanted to buy a kudu mount at a yard sale for $150.
"Hell no" I said (probably churlishly) "If I'm going to hang a kudu on the wall it'll be one I shot."
I still don't have a kudu on the wall, but I don't have to tell everybody who comes in the house "No, I've never been to Africa, I'm just a poser,"

 

[flatwater bill]

@freefall ....sorry to hear that 20 years have passed without getting to Africa....maybe you SHOULD have bought the kudu, just to keep an eye on the prize. Fishermen get trophies mounted up from just a foto or two and a couple of measurements.....no portion of the fish gets used.(so I'm told) But when it's on your wall, and someone asks about it, you tell them it's yours and where you caught it (although here in Idaho we often lie about where we caught it) Point is, that lion should fill in nicely for the one you hammered, but weren't allowed to import.
And a lot of money saved on dip/pack/storage/inspections/certification/transport/recepton by customs, storage, transfer to tanner, and taxidermy. Whew! And a hunter would have "his" lion....or close enough. Should be worth 5K range with the convenience factor...........................GLWS.....................FWB

 

[John9861]

It's a shame if the mount is not allowed to cross state lines. What damn difference would it make. Someone else comes in on the scene & keeps a mount alive in lieu of allowing it to waste away. Sure I'd rather mount ine for a customer. Now that being said some aren't worth saving.