Couple of weeks ago I saw an e-bay listing for a 'Old-Comoy-Pipe-Royal-Great-Grain' with a somewhat incomplete description of condition and nomenclature. The pictures were overexposed and pixelated and I initially passed on the pipe, but I saw the pipe several days later and noticed that the BIN was less than $40. Although the pictures were poor, I could tell that the grain supported the pipe being an earlier Royal Comoys which were usually straight grained.
Picture from E-bay:
Since $40 is below my 'what the hell' limit, I took a risk.
This is what I got (after cleaning):
I'm pretty please, excellent stem, excellent stummel, excellent bowl interior, good stamps. This pipe was also fitted the the very rare 'Inter Steel' system of mortise and tenon reinforcement that Comoy's used on high end pipes in the late 1930's, the first in my collection.
Deals can still be had on e-bay, especially if you can tolerate a little risk.
Doc
Picture from E-bay:
Since $40 is below my 'what the hell' limit, I took a risk.
This is what I got (after cleaning):
I'm pretty please, excellent stem, excellent stummel, excellent bowl interior, good stamps. This pipe was also fitted the the very rare 'Inter Steel' system of mortise and tenon reinforcement that Comoy's used on high end pipes in the late 1930's, the first in my collection.
Deals can still be had on e-bay, especially if you can tolerate a little risk.
Doc