105. Decoy King Eider Duck
Maker: Guyette & Deeter (Auction House)
Original Price: $10-$30*
Worth Today: $650,000*
Duck decoys are fake ducks used to attract real ducks during hunting. They were made from primitive clay and stones, but newer versions were made from high-quality wood and designed with impeccable detail. It was only in the middle of the 20th century that these decoys began to be seen as collectibles.
Now, antique duck singers by sculptors like Obediah Verity sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars to wealthy collectors, most of whom are based in New English. Guyette & Deeter, a maker of duck singers that entered the business in the mid-1980s, is one of the leading auction houses for these collectibles. If you have a duck singer from the pre-World War II period or earlier, you could be sitting on a treasure.
