What is the price difference between a mounted and an unmounted butterfly?
This is a very difficult question to answer as each art dealer or collector values the pinning process differently. 90% of damage that occurs to a specimen is during the pinning process. This is due to the tremendous fragility of the butterfly. Because of this there is a significant gap between a pinned and unpinned specimen. Depending on the price for the unmounted species, a mounted butterfly or moth is valued by a factor between 2.5 and 5. The multiplier is reduced with each price level. Some people’s nerves are affected by knowing that they could easily break the specimen even with the slightest error. And for this a premium is charged because the “pinner” undertakes all the risk. When you see a perfectly mounted specimen, not only is it appealing to eye, but it represents a lot of skill with hand eye co-ordination as well as having steady nerves.
