# Two men accidentally destroy mammoth tusk worth $200,000 at a museum **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-men-accidentally-destroy-mammoth-tusk-worth-200-000-at-a-museum/1028388 "2026-03-12T01:27:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-men-accidentally-destroy-mammoth-tusk-worth-200-000-at-a-museum/1028388/21 "2026-03-13T02:40:14Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > i assume this set was valued for something more than just the trinkets you could make it into. Mammoth tusk mining is a booming (often illegal or semi so) industry in Siberia, and a single tusk can sell for up to $30,000, and that’s disarticulated from the rest of the skeletal remains. Breaking the tusks on a complete museum-quality specimen is probably why the damage value is so high. [Mammoth mining in Siberia](https://www.afr.com/world/asia/mammoth-mining-in-siberia-20200407-p54htx) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-men-accidentally-destroy-mammoth-tusk-worth-200-000-at-a-museum/1028388/22 "2026-03-13T04:52:48Z")
Paywalled for me. But the opening paragraph said basically that global warming is making more mammoth skeletons accessible. I’ve seen really gorgeous modern carvings in Mammoth Ivory. This is from a mammoth molar, not a tusk: Walking Mammoths #163 - Fossil & Stone [Walking Mammoths #163 - Fossil & Stone](https://share.google/x5vRg7JHaf0pBHmeD) While the idiots who jumped onto a museum exhibit and broke it ought to be held accountable, i really do suspect that some glue and maybe some discreet metal rods will make it ready to display again. Lots of extinct animals displayed by museums are found in small pieces and reconstructed. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-men-accidentally-destroy-mammoth-tusk-worth-200-000-at-a-museum/1028388/23 "2026-03-13T06:59:54Z")
On a quick search, the largest tusk I could find for sale was 7’2”, and it was $67,000. The grain was mottled and the tip looked like it had been ground down. Nowhere near the quality of that matched set. So I’m having no trouble at all believing the replacement value of that tusk would be $200k. They don’t show a photo of the damage, but they use the word “shattered”, so I doubt repair is possible. The remaining pieces should have some market value though. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-men-accidentally-destroy-mammoth-tusk-worth-200-000-at-a-museum/1028388/24 "2026-03-13T12:37:25Z")
I imagine it’s more than just the tusk that was destroyed. The entire mammoth probably shattered. Maybe? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-men-accidentally-destroy-mammoth-tusk-worth-200-000-at-a-museum/1028388/25 "2026-03-14T00:09:21Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > suspect that some glue and maybe some discreet metal rods will make it ready to display again. Depends on how badly it was shattered, to begin with. If it can be put back together, that will take a non-negligible amount of labor by a highly skilled conservator, time that would otherwise be more profitably spent on other tasks. The whole skeleton may very likely need to be withdrawn from exhibition until the repairs can be made – another cost in time and labor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-men-accidentally-destroy-mammoth-tusk-worth-200-000-at-a-museum/1028388.md?page=1)