Hi, I listed today a wonderful knife with elephant ivory scales made prior to 2000 when I bought it,

VONTUNE

VONTUNE

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Apr 28, 2014
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See the recent post in Custom Knives by Individuals, Tom McCluin Folder, I listed,, Someone posted to me shortly after I listed it on BladeForums - a warning about listing Ivory for sale,, especially on this site,,? Could someone please tell me if this old knife qualifies ~~ somehow
I have seen Ivory handled threads on this site that were stunningly beautiful handmade knives, I respect not killing any more elephants for handle scales.

What about this beautiful vintage handmade knife,, is it skosh ?
 
US ban on Ivory trade went into effect sometime in 2016 I think with very few restrictions. I think the calculation was something like $10-20 Billion in ivory value in the US went to $0 overnight. It's illegal now (unless you meet the limited exceptions which you'll need to prove with documentation) and it's a federal offense with essentially no defense as every piece of Ivory comes from a dead Elephant.
 
Interstate sail of elephant ivory is not legal. Intrastate sale of elephant ivory is still legal unless you live in six states. New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, California, Vermont and New Hampshire have banned the sale of elephant ivory. There may be more, Doug's link above goes into more detail. Consult it.
 
Mark, I already gave him all the info, though I see the for sale listing persists, lol.
 
Richard S. said:
Look up the regs. Ivory, as long as it meets the de minimis rules, you can sell it across state lines.

Elephant ivory can still be legally purchased and sold.

https://www.fws.gov/international/travel-and-trade/ivory-ban-questions-and-answers.html
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you are dead wrong. We have a few experts in the house that can be consulted that you might check with.

There are few exceptions, and as a general statement, sale of most ivory objects across state lines is strictly forbidden.
 
No, I’m not dead wrong. It’s in black and white. That’s why you can still sell handguns with elephant ivory grips across state lines.
The man’s sale is legal, as he’s only got about $150.00 worth of ivory on the knife. Depending on the weight of the ivory, it falls under de minimis.
 
I suppose it would be best to let the owner of this knife figure it out himself, so below are the requirements to be met for the de minimus rule to be active, and proving when imported has proven to be highly problematic for most folks:

The de minimus exemption has 7 criteria. To qualify for the exception, manufactured or handcrafted items must meet all of the following criteria:

(i) If the item is located within the United States, the ivory was imported into the United States prior to January 18, 1990, or was imported into the United States under a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) pre-Convention certificate with no limitation on its commercial use;
(ii) If the item is located outside the United States, the ivory was removed from the wild prior to February 26, 1976;
(iii) The ivory is a fixed or integral component or components of a larger manufactured or handcrafted item and is not in its current form the primary source of the value of the item, that is, the ivory does not account for more than 50 percent of the value of the item;
(iv) The ivory is not raw;
(v) The manufactured or handcrafted item is not made wholly or primarily of ivory, that is, the ivory component or components do not account for more than 50 percent of the item by volume;
(vi) The total weight of the ivory component or components is less than 200 grams; and
(vii) The item was manufactured or handcrafted before the effective date of this rule.

Everyone have a nice day...........
 
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The biggest legality issue, as pointed out in the referenced article, is that few pieces of ivory were sold with the requisite paperwork proving legality under (i). Even fewer retain that paper trail. Without a paper trail, you don't have proof. So, the value of the de minimus exception is significantly reduced, which was the whole idea in the first place. There is research going on to provide a test that can accurately date pre-ban ivory, at an affordable cost. It has not yet been commercialized and it may be years, if ever, before it is.
 
Just one more piece of info:

What are some of the penalties that a person could face for violating the prohibition on ivory sales?

The maximum penalty for violating the ESA is a fine of up to $100,000 ($200,000 for an organization) and up to one year in prison. This is not to mention that a person could also face fines of up to $250,000 ($500,000 for an organization) and up to five years in prison if convicted of violating the Lacey Act, which criminalizes the production or submission of false paperwork purporting to show that an ivory-related item qualifies as an exception.

If you are under investigation or have already been charged with any sort of federal offense, it's imperative to consider speaking with an experienced legal professional as soon as possible.
 
Words have meaning. Take the word “or” for instance...

That knife checks the blocks for de minimis. If it were me, I’d just call the appropriate authority and get clarification from the horse’s mouth.
 
I would, as Doug Ritter has, refer you to (i) in the referenced section quote. If you cannot prove origin and date, well, no paperwork back to date of import, then no qualification for de minimus, period. That box is NOT checked as you would lead one to believe. And forging documents gets you the Lacey Act conviction.

Yes, go to the DF&S enforcement division and see what they say once they see it is being offered for sale in violation.

Doug Ritter is Chairman of Knife Rights and has been, for years, in the midst of the legal fray on all things knife related and very much including these recent ivory bans. He is the reigning expert in the room, and I bow to his view, and so should the thread creator.

I am done here. Feel free to get in the last word.
 
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