So the bottom line is that the ivory I sell is pre-ban ivory. This is well aged African elephant ivory from private and museum collections found within the 50 States. When this material is gone - it is gone and I will then be out of business. I know this and the Government knows this. I am often asked how long the US supply will last and I have no way of knowing. Most of these tusks are from the 1950's through the 1980's with the vast majority being from the 1960's and early 70's when big game hunting was at its' peak. Most people who hunted elephants were wealthy people and many found it highly advantageous to donate their tusks to museums. The IRS , until 2007 , allowed for such donations to be valued at " replacement cost " . The end result was that a man or woman could hunt an elephant in 1960 for a total trip cost of under $ 1200 and donate the tusks 30 years later for a tax deductible amount of $ 60,000. Needless to say , a lot of ivory tusks were donated to non-profit museums across America and we work with these museums to purchase them. By law , a non-profit museum can sell items donated to it.
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