I purchased one runty Yartsa Gunbu (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) many years ago for $10. It would cost far more now if I had to replace it, so I don’t put it on display at shows anymore unless I am there to watch it :-)
Some of those prices are way out of line; maybe those are European prices. You can get Morels, Chanterelles, and Porcini mushrooms for much less at farmers markets when in season. And I found that Sungiven Foods sells fresh Enoki mushrooms for $1.86 for 200 grams.
Apparently there's no shortage of such lists. Here's another one from the same year. At a glance, it appears to have been compiled after some research involving a number of reputable sources. 10 Most Expensive Mushrooms in the World (Updated 2023)
They're not European prices, or if they are, they're from a couple of centuries ago . . . we don't use those old imperialistic anachronisms in Europe any more, only kg :-)
I prefer Porcini mushrooms over Chanterelles any time. Chanterelles and Morels are widespread here, each year I collect ca 10 kg of Chanterelles and ca 5 kg of Morels. Matsutakes are present but very rare here, and because some other Tricholomas are poisonous, I usually don't touch Matsutakes too. My father used to recognise Matsutakes well. And his dishes from Matsutakes were delicious.
They asked ca 70 € per kg of Chanterelles at the beginning of the season (in June) this year. But the price dropped to 7-15 €/kg range in July. And some sellers offered these mushrooms for 5 €/kg at the peak season.
It's interesting that the true Matsutake can be found in northern Europe; I wasn't aware of that. That is the expensive version; we have the less expensive Western Matsutake here. I can find them close by in the North Shore, but neither my wife nor I like them. So, I only pick them for friends and my son, who enjoy their strong flavour. In that second list of expensive mushrooms, the biggest discrepancy that I see is for Enoki mushrooms, probably because the authors did not sample any Chinese grocery stores.
Absolutely past it :-) ... however mushroom-excitement I've notice makes folks do odd things ... e.g. at mushroom shows, sometimes folks actually steal the large polypores: artists conks, red belts, G. oregonense of course ... regardless of what condition they are in ... presumably under the hazy assumption of all of these being "medicinal reishi" and not knowing/caring whether they are old, or moldy or covered in Hypocrea etc. ... And thusly I guard my old Yartsa gunbu still :-)
