The mink average was $21.07 per pelt at the Ohio State Trappers Association's March 2026 fur sale, nearly three times the $7.11 mink average at the association's sale in March 2025. Raccoon brought an average of $3.44 per pelt on 1,329 pelts at the 2026 sale after $3.39 at the 2025 sale, putting the 2026 mink average at about 6 times the 2026 raccoon average. For a trapper sorting fur for this sale, mink and beaver were the only two species that sold more than 100 pelts and averaged above $20 in 2026.
I2026 Sale
Mink Almost Tripled as Raccoon Averaged $3.44
The association's sale sheet for 2026 gives March 1 as the sale date. We took the printed species averages from the association's 14 March sales from 2013 to 2026. Every species price here gives the average per pelt at one of those sales and mixes every grade sold including damaged pelts.
The 2026 mink average nearly matched the $22.53 mink average at the sale in 2013. Beaver brought an average of $22.03 on 466 pelts at the 2026 sale, slightly above the mink average on 213 pelts. Raccoon had the second-largest lot after muskrat at the 2026 sale while raccoon, muskrat and opossum had the three lowest averages on the 2026 sheet.
IIRaccoon Prices
March Raccoon Averages Have Stayed Below $7 Since 2015
The raccoon average was $15.09 on 1,702 pelts at the 2013 sale and $9.26 on 1,404 pelts at the 2014 sale. The raccoon average had fallen to $3.81 by 2015. Raccoon stayed below a $7 average in all 12 March sales from 2015 to 2026, with the highest raccoon average of those 12 reaching $6.29 at the sale in 2021. Raccoon reached its lowest average of the 14 sales in 2024 at $2.74, when the 2,299 raccoon pelts made up the largest raccoon lot of the 14 sales.
At $3.44 the 2026 raccoon average is 77.2% below the 2013 raccoon average. Total raccoon dollars fell from $25,685.00 at the 2013 sale to $4,576.15 at the 2026 sale.
- Raccoon
- Mink
- Beaver
The mink average dropped alongside the raccoon average from 2013 to 2015 and then ran between $3.11 and $8.52 at every sale from 2015 to 2025.
Swipe table to see every column
| Sale year | Raccoon | Muskrat | Mink | Beaver | Coyote | Red fox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $15.09 (1,702) | $10.62 (1,814) | $22.53 (160) | $20.35 (246) | $15.51 (193) | $43.51 (85) |
| 2014 | $9.26 (1,404) | $10.25 (1,233) | $13.25 (72) | $14.52 (125) | $13.33 (173) | $26.93 (75) |
| 2015 | $3.81 (1,539) | $4.75 (1,641) | $5.92 (102) | $9.14 (55) | $12.17 (100) | $17.43 (40) |
| 2016 | $3.17 (1,617) | $2.33 (2,040) | $5.47 (90) | $9.66 (185) | $15.42 (145) | $11.24 (92) |
| 2017 | $2.90 (1,171) | $3.46 (1,670) | $5.65 (93) | $10.44 (146) | $11.31 (77) | $14.44 (20) |
| 2018 | $5.55 (939) | $3.51 (1,173) | $8.52 (75) | $8.25 (111) | $14.04 (130) | $14.77 (49) |
| 2019 | $5.78 (1,561) | $4.32 (1,663) | $6.35 (233) | $11.14 (213) | $17.44 (186) | $11.67 (29) |
| 2020 | $3.11 (1,460) | $2.83 (1,586) | $3.11 (70) | $8.56 (212) | $23.92 (71) | $9.60 (21) |
| 2021 | $6.29 (1,249) | $6.29 (2,943) | $8.36 (172) | $11.53 (60) | $15.43 (75) | $12.40 (35) |
| 2022 | $3.25 (1,351) | $3.52 (5,215) | $5.77 (368) | $9.95 (267) | $13.23 (246) | $10.48 (72) |
| 2023 | $4.64 (1,273) | $3.63 (3,259) | $5.22 (299) | $30.16 (408) | $15.98 (98) | $16.95 (33) |
| 2024 | $2.74 (2,299) | $3.94 (5,909) | $6.41 (413) | $38.22 (635) | $10.46 (87) | $13.07 (37) |
| 2025 | $3.39 (1,065) | $2.83 (2,934) | $7.11 (296) | $19.16 (464) | $11.18 (107) | $17.94 (34) |
| 2026 | $3.44 (1,329) | $3.05 (3,314) | $21.07 (213) | $22.03 (466) | $14.88 (119) | $23.93 (34) |
Our read is that raccoon has been a volume fur at this sale for 12 Marches in a row and that in 2026 raccoon paid mostly through volume and its top grades. The grade lines in our rule further down show how wide that spread runs.
IIIWater Pelts
Beaver and Muskrat Made 4.45 Times Raccoon's Dollars in 2026
The beaver average ran between $8.25 and $14.52 from 2014 to 2022. The beaver average climbed to $30.16 on 408 pelts in 2023 and reached $38.22 on 635 pelts at the sale in 2024, the highest beaver average of the 14 sales. The beaver average dropped to $19.16 in 2025 before rising to $22.03 on 466 pelts in 2026. The 2026 beaver average beats every beaver average from 2013 to 2022.
Muskrat led the 2026 sale in pelt count with 3,314 pelts averaging $3.05. That muskrat average falls well short of the $10.62 muskrat average in 2013.
By total dollars rather than average the 2026 sale's top four species were beaver at $10,268.00, muskrat at $10,098.50, raccoon at $4,576.15 and mink at $4,488.50. Beaver and muskrat brought a combined $20,366.50, which was 4.45 times the raccoon total. Water fur (beaver, muskrat and mink) filled three of those four places and muskrat got there on pelt count.
Swipe table to see every column
| Species | Average per pelt | Pelts sold | Total dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver | $22.03 | 466 | $10,268.00 |
| Muskrat | $3.05 | 3,314 | $10,098.50 |
| Raccoon | $3.44 | 1,329 | $4,576.15 |
| Mink | $21.07 | 213 | $4,488.50 |
| Skunk | $17.14 | 148 | $2,537.00 |
| Coyote | $14.88 | 119 | $1,771.00 |
| River otter | $38.22 | 37 | $1,414.00 |
| Bobcat | $93.08 | 12 | $1,117.00 |
| Red fox | $23.93 | 34 | $813.75 |
| Opossum | $1.27 | 59 | $74.65 |
| Gray fox | $22.67 | 3 | $68.00 |
IVSmaller Fur Lots
Skunk Hit a Series-High 148 Pelts as Bobcat Averaged $93.08 on 12
Skunk sold 148 pelts averaging $17.14 for $2,537.00 at the 2026 sale, the largest skunk pelt count at any of the 14 sales. Skunk's previous highest count was 44 pelts in 2023, when the skunk average was $11.93. The 2026 sheet lists skunk on a single line, meaning the $17.14 skunk average includes pelts sold for $3.00 to $50.00 each.
Bobcat led the 2026 sheet with an average of $93.08 per pelt on only 12 pelts. The 2025 bobcat average was $46.06 on 16 pelts. The 2026 sale averages were $38.22 on 37 pelts for river otter, $23.93 on 34 for red fox and $22.67 on 3 for gray fox. The $23.93 red fox average was the highest at this sale since 2014, when the red fox average was $26.93. Coyote brought an average of $14.88 on 119 pelts and opossum averaged $1.27 on 59 pelts.
With lots this small a few animals swing the averages, so we would not plan a season around a bobcat average that roughly doubled from 2025 to 2026 on 16 and then 12 pelts.
VPricing Your Fur
Use the Grade Line to Price Your Catch
Our rule is to use the latest sheet from the sale where you actually sell to plan the season's skinning and price your fur by its matching grade line instead of the species average. The reason shows up on the 2026 sheet. The 3X #1&2 raccoon line sold 354 pelts at a $5.84 average with its best pelt bringing $8.75, the highest price on any raccoon line that day. LG raccoon of that same grade brought an average of $1.82 per pelt on 99 pelts. Neither group is described by the $3.44 raccoon species average.
Mink showed the same split. XL male mink averaged $25.44 on 117 pelts while 17-18 female mink averaged $15.78 on 49 pelts. Good 3X beaver brought an average of $39.89 on 35 pelts while damaged or rubbed XSM beaver averaged $6.00 per pelt on 17 pelts.
Before the season, get the latest sheet from the sale you use and look up the line for the size and grade you usually ship. Multiply the average on that line by the pelts you expect to put up of that species and use that to compare species. Give little weight to any species average based on a few dozen pelts, and treat a one-year jump like the 2026 mink average as the result of one sale.
VISheet Gaps
Every Number Comes From One Ohio Sale per March
Every number here is from one association sale per year in one state. These averages are the prices this sale paid and do not represent a statewide or national fur market. The sheets leave out who bought, the quality of each lot and how many pelts did not sell. The sale site is not named on the 2013 to 2016 sheets.
We took each species average, pelt count and dollar total from the printed sheets. At every sale for every species the total divided by the pelt count came within 2 cents of the printed average. Castor, deer hides, squirrel, weasel, silver fox and lines marked Other are not included.
We reached no conclusion about why any price changed, and nothing here forecasts next March.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Source: Ohio State Trappers Association March fur sale result sheets, 14 sales from March 2013 to March 2026, linked in the text.
- Scope: Each sheet prints, for each species, an average price per pelt, the number of pelts and total dollars.
- Method: We read the printed species average and totals lines from each sheet. For every species and sale, total dollars divided by pelts matched the printed average within 2 cents. Averages include every grade sold, damaged pelts included. Castor, deer hides, squirrel, weasel, silver fox and lines marked Other are left out.
- Limits: One association sale per year in one state, so these are sale prices, not a statewide or national market price.
- Limits: Averages mix grades. A sale heavy in damaged or small pelts reads lower.
- Limits: The sheets do not show buyers, lot quality or how many pelts went unsold.
- Limits: 2013 to 2016 sheet titles do not name the sale site.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is an independent data and analysis desk. This paper reports FDR's own reading of the Ohio State Trappers Association's published sale sheets. Every price is an average price per pelt at one association sale, not a statewide or national market price.
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