Bought For £50, Sold For £50,000!

Taxidermy 'Fox With Googly Eyes’ Bought At Market For £50 Revealed As Rare Extinct Thylacine Specimen, And Sells For £50,000 At Auction

An antique taxidermy ‘fox head’ bought for just £50 at Antiques Market in the South West of England has been described as ‘one of the most important specimens sold in recent years’, after fetching £50,000 at our auction in Bristol.

What was initially believed to be a Victorian taxidermy foxes head, has caused a shockwave in the scientific community after being identified as a rare Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) mounted head.

The Thylacine was a unique carnivorous marsupial native to Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea that evolved dog-like traits through convergent evolution. While mainland populations disappeared around 2,000 years ago - likely due to competition with dingoes and environmental shifts - an isolated population survived in Tasmania into the modern era. European settlers in the 19th century mistakenly viewed the thylacine as a threat to sheep and instituted government-funded bounties to eradicate it. Driven to the brink by relentless hunting, habitat fragmentation, and introduced diseases, the species suffered a rapid decline; the last known individual died at Hobart Zoo in 1936, marking its complete extinction. Pelts, mounted heads, bones and other taxidermy specimens of the creature are touted as ‘holy grails’ for zoologists, museums, scientists and collectors alike.

‘It was quite a shock to discover we were sitting on something so special,’ says our own Andrew Stowe, ‘The vendor had purchased it simply because the novelty googly eyes attached to it made them laugh. When we broke the news that it was actually a Thylacine, they were in complete shock.’

Complete mounted heads of the species are virtually non-existent outside of major national museums and scientific institutions. Only 756 specimens are known to exist and of those only 101 are taxidermy. Only one taxidermy head is believed to exist. ‘It is unbelievably rare,’ adds Andrew, ‘even replicas of skulls or bones sell for thousands of pounds. To find a complete item like this, is almost unheard of, especially here in the UK.’

The auction, which took place on Tuesday 11^th August 2026 was an exciting affair. Andrew adds ‘Bids were being called out by bidders in the room, a rare occurrence these days! Bids quickly jumped into the tens-of-thousands, and simply kept on going up. The room went silent, everyone crowded in to watch. It was an amazing moment to witness.’ The hammer eventually fell to a bidder in the room for £50,000, bringing the total price to over £60,000 including buyer fees.’

 ‘When we told the vendor how much it had sold for, I thought they were about to pass out!’ Says Andrew. ‘I actually had to offer them a chair, they couldn’t believe it!’

‘We both agreed that we’d never look at a fox in the same way ever again!’