We frequently get calls from people with ivory objects that they want to sell. Due to recent changes to laws at the state and federal level governing the sale of ivory, it has become increasingly difficult to sell anything made of ivory in the United States. There are exemptions to the ban on ivory sale including if you have an ivory object over 100 years old or if the object that you wish to sell includes less than 20% ivory of the surface area among other exemptions. However, the burden of proof is on the seller, who must obtain a permit by submitting documentation supporting their assertion to the governing state or federal agency. At the federal level, the latest update is Director’s Order #210 which you can click on and read here do210. Due to the outcry of dealers, auction houses and museums claiming that these laws are overly restrictive and punitive to sellers and collectors, these regulations are in the process of being modified. Since 1970 California has had the most restrictive regulations on objects made of endangered species including ivory, mammoth and rhinoceros horn which I have written about in previous post. Now states like New York, (see ivoryfaqs by New York law firm, Pearlstein and McCullough) and New Jersey have enacted similar regulations. Other states are expected to follow their lead and enact more stringent laws.
