Just got this 70s Flame Grain 999, 9mm Pete. I liked it and bought it. Unsmoked, sitting in the box, waiting. Mark Irwin (petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com) was kind enough to take a look at the eBay images and comment on the pipe.
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Mark Irwin:
"Yup, it's like the vendor says, from the 1970s. The box is one of your confirmations. Your 999 was one of the last of the "John Bull" 999s, as Peterson transitioned to an "XL999" (the old John Bull) and 998 (Skinny version) for a brief period late in the decade. Then the 998 number was dropped (old 999 stock depleted) to become the current 999 skinny version everyone (but me) likes.
Flame Grains weren't advertised in the Peterson ephemera until well into the 1990s, because they were so scarce it simply didn't make sense to advertise they were even being made. As you can see, "Flame Grain" by Peterson standards isn't like what we expect from our artisan briars these days, but remember this is a flame grain cut from the ebauchon block, not a plateau. Much rarer, actually, even if it's not as uniform as today's "flame" and "straight." And I still prize the Pete Flame (I have a 4s Flame).
Why it had the original tenon removed and a 9mm replacement is a mystery whose answer probably lies in the fact that it was intended to be sold in Germany. At the time, Peterson was making a 6mm filter, but their 9mm didn't come into production until later. I'm not surprised this pipe surfaces from Germany, as it is most certainly the home of the 9. It is an original stem, as the gold-stamp P was routine for the high quality Petes at the time. The fishtail also makes it a rarity, as P-Lips were still the Rule of the Day for these pipes in the 1970s. (Only rarely, very rarely, would they use the aluminum and brass P inlaid during those years, although its use is documented back to the 1950s)."
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