Ladies and Gentlemen- I have a friend that is moving to Uruguay and is literally selling everything he has. One of those items is a Grevy's Zebra hide. He got the skin from a friend of his many years ago (20+) and it has always hung on the wall-never a rug. He says it is in excellent condition and I believe him. It measures 10' from nose to tail. It is not padded nor does it have hanging rings, it's just the plain old skin. As far as I know, this species is endangered and cannot be imported into the US. Small populations exist in Kenya and Ethopia. My question is: What is it worth?


John

John,

I have been a rugmaker for the taxidermy industry for 19 years and have rugged and refurbished many a zebra. I am sure if the zebra has been on his wall only,for the past 20 years it does look fine but I can guarantee you when taken off the wall the skin will be a bit fragile. From the day a skin leaves the tannery
,especially one not on a form or backed, the elements and time break down the chemical process done at the tannery which initially had rendered the skin soft and pliable. Unless of course this skin was chrome tanned(which would give it a bluish gray color to the leather). Chrome tanned skins generally stand the wear of time due to a completely different tanning process.

If not chrome tanned this skin will be dry rotted and will appear fine until you try to fold it for shipping if you sell it.It may crack or tear easily. I have vulcanized and refurbished such skins which were purchased by customers from private sellers.

Skins in this condition regardless of the type of zebra are generally worth in the neighborhood of $200.00 -$300.00 due to the fact that restoration costs are close to the price of rugging a fresh tanned zebra skin. Fresh tanned zebra skins can be purchased from $800.00 and up.

Hope this information is helpfull to you.
Kindest Regards,
Mary

Thank you Mary. Very informative. My friend is asking $2,000 for it so I think I will pass.

John