Thomas Dyekman of Loveland twice passed up the opportunity to sell the title to the historic cattle brand that has been in his family since before the turn of the 20th century.
“I chickened out,” Dyekman said.
The heft of history, a heritage of the Old West with its open ranges and cattle rustlers, was too hard to let go.
But his rare, two-character ZL brand, first recorded in 1885, is now on the block. The price tag: $12,000.
“My son has the farm now, and he’s going to sell it and move to Wyoming,” Dyekman said.
In Colorado, a brand is private property that can be bought or sold. Some are priced as low as $500. Others, like a set auctioned for charity, fetch as much as $44,000.
Just as the number of ranches is dwindling, so are the brands that go with them. Currently, there are 32,609 registered brands.
Full story: Ranchers’ brands bought and sold amid rising costs – The Denver Post.