Advice sought re: Peterson Mark Twain

[greysmoke]

I’d been on the hunt for a Peterson’s Mark Twain, at a reasonable price, for a long time and was finally able to score one last year. Due to some dings on the sterling silver band and overall heavily-smoked condition, the price was right for me. The pipe is otherwise in great shape and has proven to be extremely rewarding – well worth the years-long wait. It smokes wonderfully with a nice, full draw, and fits my hand like a glove.
I finally got around to some serious examination of the hallmarks, which are faded but still yield pretty clearly to inspection with an illuminated 40X magnifier. The date hallmark is the one used for 1984: it looks like a capital “C” that also has a capital “T” crossbar at the top (that, according to the information on Peterson’s website at www.peterson.ie/t/hallmarking).
According to Pipedia’s informative article on the Peterson pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson), the Mark Twain series was first issued in 1979 and 1980 with pipes numbered from 1 to 400. Given the new pipe’s popularity, they increased that production to 1,000 and then launched a second 1,000 pipe issue beginning in 1981. The article then goes on to say: “Peterson then went on to produce more non limited versions of the Mark Twain pipes, this time without numbers, from 1983 through to 1989.” And that seems to be the production series that I hold in my hands (at least when I’m not typing). Various limited editions then came back into play beginning in 1985.
My question is, does anyone have any idea how many pipes might have been produced of the un-numbered 1984 line?
And, purely for the sake of my curiosity, what affect does the sterling silver “dinging” have on the overall value of the pipe? Make no mistake, this one stays right where it is. It was a long time coming, and I’m very glad to have it. But I’m also a history buff and somewhat intrigued. Any insight is welcome.
Close-up of band:

http://pipesmagazine.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/album/2592/pmt_1-494x600.jpg
Photo of pipe:

http://pipesmagazine.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/album/2592/pmt_2-600x344.jpg
Close-up of band ding:

http://pipesmagazine.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/album/2592/pmt_3-500x600.jpg
Close-up of band:

http://pipesmagazine.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/album/2592/pmt_4-600x450.jpg

 

[gloucesterman]

Getting Peterson production numbers for non numbered pipes is somewhat difficult. I made an inquiry of Peterson about production numbers on a Craftsman Series pipe which was produce in Feb. 2015. There was no response at all and that pipe was in it's current year of production and only involved a single month's release. If you find some way to get the information please post it.

 

[ssjones]

I'm with Glouchesterman, a tough number to nail down (impossible).

As far as dings go, I'd say to a collector, the ding probably reduces the value by perhaps 20%?

 

[rblood]

The comments above track with my experience as well - impossible to say what the numbers are on the Mark Twain non-numbered production. I am not sure even Peterson's knows for sure. On a popular pipe like the Mark Twain, I would bet the number produced is quite high.
I can only speak for myself, but unless the pipe in question is quite rare I will always want the best example I can find, which means I would probably pass on a damaged pipe that was produced in such high volume. I will say though, I have seen a few band dent repairs that were flawless - amazing what a repair jeweler can do.

 

[huntertrw]

greysmoke:
According to Richard Carleton Hacker in his book titled "Rare Smoke - The Ultimate Guide to Pipe Collecting" Peterson manufactured 2,500 silver-banded "seconds" in its 1981 re-creation of Mark Twain's pipe (which dated to 1896), and they were originally priced at $75.00 each. These came after the initial run of 400 limited-edition gold-banded firsts which, "...proved so popular that the number was quietly increased to 1,000, with each of these high grades being individually numbered."
I own one of the silver-banded seconds and, like yours, it is indeed a fine smoker. Enjoy!

 

[cobguy]

Congrats greysmoke!
I just recently grabbed a 1986 Rusticated Twain and love it ... great smoker. ::