Nantucket Auction Nets $120K For 1836 Scrimshaw Whale’s Tooth

A scrimshaw whale's tooth dating back to the heyday of the whaling industry netted a whale of a fortune for its seller during an auction on Nantucket in December. The tooth wasn't any ordinary whale's tooth. It dates back to 1836 and contains a brief history.

The Nantucket Current reported the 9.5-inch sperm whale tooth was sold in December by Rafael Osona Nantucket Auctions, "on behalf of a man who had quietly held on to it for more than 80 years after it had been handed down in his family for generations."

The paper reported the whale was "killed by Capt. Richard Macy, of Nantucket, and the crew of the whaleship Wiscasset during a voyage that took them all the way to the coast of New Zealand in April of 1836."

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What Is Scrimshaw?

Scrimshaw, as any New Bedford fisherman worth his weight in scallops knows, is markings and carvings that are etched or engraved onto polished bone or ivory.

One side of the tooth contains a detailed sketch of Wiscasset, with the date and location it was collected. The other side shows a talking porpoise with the words, "A porpoise you see in this likeness of me."

On its website, Rafael Osona Nantucket Auctions stated, "The details are beautiful, including the intricate rigging, the men stationed at the lookouts on three masts and the humorous depiction of a porpoise on the verso."

How Much Did It Sell For?

The scrimshaw whale's tooth sold for $120,000 at December's auction.

All that we know about the seller of the tooth is that he is in his mid-80s and from the "middle of the country." The buyer's identity was not immediately available.