I agree with Derek on the cash price range of $20 or lower per carat, since I remembered what the Rankins charge for retail. Personally, I wouldn't touch it. Let the buyer take the risk of peeling it. I love the quiet abalone colors. It reminds me of the shells I have found on the California coast. I love the subtleties of the colors. I know that thing is humongous, but I would wear it if it were mine even if it gets in the way of hugs.... Maybe if you want to sell it as is, just put a removable silver band around it until you do. A drill hole might lower its value for a collector.
As I said before, that is absolutely the best "found a pearl in something I ate" type story we have ever had here. You will never be able to replace it- all you will have is the story and some photos if you get rid of it. What people ask for retail on Abalone shells is often unrealistic. and they don't sell because wholesalers know what they would pay for it and pass
jnorris is my first choice to ask. Wes and Trish Rankin of Pacific coast pearls are the biggest abalone buyers I know of. Kari's site found its purpose when it turned to natural pearls, but I think she might let people set their own prices- at least on some things, because they have been for sale for years. That is a sure sign people think they can do better elsewhere, but it won't hurt to put it up there, after you get a realistic idea of what it will sell for.
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