What should I do with all these claws?

I seem to be accumulating claw-keys. I had to return the Golden Claw, but I was able to keep the Ruby Claw and I've just been given a Coral Claw.

The Ruby Claw is a moderately high-value item (400g); does it have any use after clearing the Dustmans's Crypt? Do any of the claws have subsequent uses?

On the flip-side, will anyone buy them from me, or are they marked as quest items?

Solution 1:

Most of the Claws lose their quest item status (if they ever have it at all) when you complete their respective dungeon's quest.

If you choose to re-steal the Golden Claw, for instance, it will be a normal (albeit stolen) item that can be pawned off to a fence for quick cash.

Collectors might be inclined to display them in their house - there's at least 3 more claws out there in Skyrim, but at the end of the day, they're just loot. And what you do with your loot is your prerogative!

Solution 2:

Bear in mind there is at least one claw (coral, I believe), that still has a use in a dungeon after the quest status has been cleared. I am far from clearing all the dungeons in the game, so there may be others. Personally, I just throw them all in a box with my other "might need them again" artifacts, along with my extra keys, so if for some reason I end up needing them later, I know where to find them.

The slight amount of gold you can get for them isn't worth the possibility of being forever locked out of a dungeon to me.

Solution 3:

I recently did a quest that came with 1 claw but required another to unlock the door as well. It was through the quest of "Pieces of the past". The "Mehrunes' Razor" quest-line I believe.

It involved the ivory and emerald claws I believe. Thing is I had one on display in my house in Riften so I had to run back to get it.

So yes I can verify a 2nd use for a previously used quest claw.

Solution 4:

The claws can be used again in different dungeons, for instance: in a dungeon accessed by the emerald claw, the ivory claw opens some doors as well.