They are quite the whimsical conversation piece. But the real taxidermy collectors go for the rare mute swan, African buffalo, barracuda or albino whitetail deer. If it can t be shrunken or stuffed, maybe it can be molded into a pumpkin head. These are porcelain or tin molds placed over pumpkins to mold them into faces as they grow. You are truly famous if you have been represented in a pumpkin mold.
Weird stuff has become so popular, often people buy objects that nobody can identify.
It makes for great conversation when your host pulls out an odd antique medical instrument, and everybody tries to figure out its former use. My search for weird stuff brought me to face jugs. A tradition that started in the Appalachian Mountains near Georgia, face jugs are whiskey crocks or tobacco spit jugs fashioned into faces ranging from comical to scary. The older jugs are quite valuable, particularly those made by famous folk artists. They are reminiscent of Halloween masks and have probably been around just as long.