The decoys worth real money came from a handful of places.
If your bird came out of a barn, a boathouse or a grandfather's closet near one of these green marks, it is worth a second look before it goes in a yard sale. Tap a region to see who carved there and what their birds have sold for.
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic hotspots are shown enlarged below.
Price ranges are rough guides for now, until they're worked out from the sales in our records. They describe birds in original paint and sound condition; repainted or repaired birds sell for a fraction.
Boundary Bay & the Fraser Delta, British Columbia
1900s–1950s
Carvers
Lower Mainland brant gunners, Ladner and Boundary Bay club rigs
How to tell
Pacific black brant in cedar, often oversized and hollow, with a stubby bill and a dark, simply painted body. Brant from any Pacific rig are scarce and sought after.
Sold for
$800 – $20,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Puget Sound & Skagit Flats
1900s–1950s
Carvers
Skagit, Samish and Padilla Bay gunners
How to tell
Brant, widgeon and bluebills in cedar; some with a canvas-covered body over a wood frame. Rarely signed, so family history matters.
Sold for
$400 – $10,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Humboldt Bay, California
1900s–1950s
Carvers
Eureka and Arcata brant gunners
How to tell
Black brant in redwood, long and low in the water, often with a flat sawn head. One of the few West Coast regions collectors actively hunt for.
Sold for
$500 – $12,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Great Salt Lake & Bear River
1900s–1950s
Carvers
Utah duck-club carvers
How to tell
Solid, heavy birds for big water, often in sugar pine with bold, flat paint. Club brands on the bottom are common.
Sold for
$300 – $8,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Minnesota & Upper Mississippi
1890s–1950s
Carvers
Minneapolis and St. Paul carvers, Heron Lake rigs
How to tell
Long-bodied divers with a lead keel; canvasbacks and bluebills dominate. Overlooked for years, so untouched rigs still turn up.
Sold for
$300 – $15,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Wisconsin & Green Bay
1880s–1950s
Carvers
Lake Poygan, Winnebago and Green Bay carvers
How to tell
Hollow birds with a flat bottom and a lead pad; Green Bay carvers favored canvasbacks with combed paint.
Sold for
$300 – $12,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Lake Erie marshes, Ohio
1880s–1950s
Carvers
Sandusky Bay and Toledo club carvers
How to tell
Sturdy, round-bodied birds with simple paint built for the Erie chop. Private-club rigs often stayed intact for generations.
Sold for
$300 – $10,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Chesapeake western shore
1880s–1950s
Carvers
Baltimore and Patuxent River gunners
How to tell
Workmanlike canvasbacks and blackheads with a keel; the best are early, heavy and in original paint.
Sold for
$200 – $8,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Long Island, New York
1870s–1940s
Carvers
Obediah Verity, Thomas Gelston, the Dilley family, the Seaford school
How to tell
Shorebirds with carved wing tips and split tails; Verity’s are the ones that bring serious money. Seaford ducks are hollow with raised wings.
Sold for
$500 – $80,000 sold auction lots, original paint
New Brunswick & Nova Scotia
1880s–1940s
Carvers
Tabusintac, Bay of Fundy and Nova Scotia carvers
How to tell
Sea ducks and geese in pine, often hollow with a tucked head and a canvas-covered or slat body for the largest birds.
Sold for
$300 – $15,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Quebec & the St. Lawrence estuary
1880s–1950s
Carvers
Lac Saint-Pierre and Quebec City carvers
How to tell
Solid, stylized birds with rich paint and a distinctive upright head; goldeneyes and black ducks lead.
Sold for
$300 – $12,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Georgia & South Carolina low country
1880s–1940s
Carvers
Plantation gunners, Savannah and Charleston rigs
How to tell
Pine or cypress birds, often oversized and crudely but beautifully painted; many survive in old plantation houses.
Sold for
$300 – $10,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Texas Gulf Coast
1900s–1950s
Carvers
Rockport and Galveston Bay carvers
How to tell
Pintails and redheads in cedar or cypress; thin, flat-bodied with a lead strip for the shallow bays.
Sold for
$200 – $8,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Lower Columbia & Astoria, Oregon
1890s–1940s
Carvers
Oregon and Washington market gunners, the Columbia River school
How to tell
Heavy, wide-bodied birds in cedar, often with a flat bottom and a thick neck. Many have never been seen outside the family.
The Stratford school: hollow, with a carved shelf under the tail and a long, graceful neck. Wheeler never sold a decoy, so they came out of friends’ rigs.
Sold for
$1,000 – $150,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Ward birds carry a flat bottom and dated, signed paint on later birds; Hudson’s are chunky with a distinctive flat-topped head. Cobb Island birds have inlaid split tails.
Sold for
$500 – $100,000+ sold auction lots, original paint
Back Bay & Currituck Sound
1880s–1940s
Carvers
Lee Dudley, John Williams
How to tell
Dudley’s rarely-seen ruddy ducks are the prize. Many birds sat in club boathouses for a century.
Sold for
$1,000 – $90,000 sold auction lots, original paint
Core Sound, North Carolina
1890s–1960s
Carvers
Mitchell Fulcher, Homer Fulcher, the Salter family, Harkers Island carvers
How to tell
Rough, strong, often root-head geese and brant, canvas or wood. Coastal weather beats them up, so untouched examples stand out.