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?
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!
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.
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.
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.
