Distinctive and Rare

[mso489]

I know my pipes and tobacco would register on the ordinary side in terms of resale, although I have a few treasures in both categories. But looked at differently, many of my pipes are discontinued brands, shapes or series, and a number are artisan hand-carved and couldn't be duplicated. About half my leaf is discontinued or requires one specific retailer anyway, and some has aged quite a bit since I got it. So from one perspective, I have a rare collection and stash difficult to duplicate, or at least it would take some considerable doing. It's mostly the product of chance and time, but so it seems. How about you?

 

[alaskanpiper]

Runs the gamut from totally common to quite rare. Everything from an average Savinelli to things like a Gert Holbek Polonius. As far as tobacco, I got into the game too late to acquire anything particularly rare, but I did manage to scoop up several tins of some McClelland stuff and so on. I think one of the fun parts of pipe smoking is how unique and organic each individuals collection of pipes and tobacco are. Part of what makes it so fun to get together.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have way more rare tobacco than rare pipes, since McClellands was my favorite tobacco company for so many years. But, I do have a few treasures in my pipe collection as well. Not all of them, but a few.

 

[mso489]

A few years ago, SP had a Savinelli long-stemmed prince, rusticated with a long swirled gray stem, similar in proportion to the Bing and Cary Grant pipes but in a prince shape. It dropped out of the inventory and I suspect it will not reappear. It was called the Prince of Wales, after the king who abdicated the throne. It's one of my not-likely-to-be replaced pipes.

 

[tobefrank]

A few years ago, SP had a Savinelli long-stemmed prince, rusticated with a long swirled gray stem, similar in proportion to the Bing and Cary Grant pipes but in a prince shape. It dropped out of the inventory and I suspect it will not reappear. It was called the Prince of Wales, after the king who abdicated the throne. It's one of my not-likely-to-be replaced pipes.

I’d love to see a photo.

 

[sablebrush52]

As collections go, mine is hardly epochal, mostly beaters that smoke well and an assortment of museum pieces that smoke well. I never thought of pipes and tobaccos as an investment, just a pleasure, so if I could not get a vintage pipe at a very good price I didn't buy it. Prices on Britwood has definitely dropped, so I'm even more happy that I only paid, on average, 1/3 to 1/2 then then current market for any of them. At best, I might get my money out of selling them and at worst, a modest loss.

I do have some very rare and now extinct tobaccos, mostly McClelland, as well as others like Motzek Strang. But, like my pipe collection, my tobacco cellar is pretty modest, only blends I like and intend to smoke. Cellaring for investment has always struck me as an investment strategy similar to buying tulips. If current trends continue, the tobaccos may bring in a small profit if I need to sell them and haven't smoked them.

 

[cshubhra]

I have a small collection of unique pipes. Some valuable while others are rare, interesting (to me) but not valuable (to others)
Interestingly I have a few tins (acquired by accident) which are rare. One strange example- I have a tin of C&D Rajah’s Court. This was pulled out from production because (I think) it did not sell very well

 

[3rdguy]

I’d love to see a photo.

 

[shanez]

Overall I have a little bit of what might be considered middle of the road stuff.

In terms of quantity the majority of my pipes are estate Savinellis that didn't cost me very much and I have more bulk Sutliff tobacco than anything else.

For upper end I do have a few artisan pipes most of which were estates. I've chased after only a couple of unobtanium blends that sounded like something I might like and even then I only wanted to get 2-3 tins so I could try it out. I figure if I like a particular blend I can try to find something in the same vein as a pseudo-substitute.

Now I'm busy cellaring blends I like that could possibly become unobtainiums themselves with only one blend that has eluded me thus far that I'm still chasing.

I guess most of my stuff was purchased cheap enough that if I had to I could sell it off and probably get most of what I paid back out of it. The rarer stuff, while it could probably be sold for a small profit, is for my personal enjoyment.

 

[canucklehead]

A couple of my old estate pipes are rare, but definitely not valuable (except to me, of course).

Probably the only "valuable" tobacco I have is a solitary tin of Frog Morton. I have a bunch of old (1975-1987, and pre-1975) Prince Albert in pocket tins but I don't think those are particularly rare or valuable, just old.

 

[bullet08]

nothing special for me. only smoke peterson pipes now. started too late to have any old blends. but enjoying the blends out there readily available. sure, would love to try older blends, but not looking for them. like my petes well enough to not look for anything more artistic.

 

[saintpeter]

I have nothing that would knock people's socks off. I have a good many pipes, but most are estate, 100-200 dollar pipes and two over 300. Meh. I am a pipe smoker not collector. I reserve the collecting part for knives, swords and firearms. Just personal choice.

 

[peregrinus]

I have some extinct and rare VaPers and some scarce briars because of some very good buys that have been enhanced by my unexpected longevity. Strangely, I find myself not very drawn to use either, particularly the scarce tobaccos. I prefer to smoke the $4.00 per ounce flake and am not willing to pop the top on the (now) $100.00 an ounce stuff because it will be unlikely to live up to the now distorted price/cost vs. value of experience equation.

 

[greeneyes]

I like to collect old British pipes, hallmarked silver bands, amber stems and cased, etc. I'd say they're all distinctive and rare, but it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea. I'd take one of those over a modern artisan-made collectible any day. I enjoy daydreaming about the history as much as anything, the transcendence of the briar passing down over generations. For example I have an old Bacon Bros. pipe. The backstory is great but I imagine it'd bore most people to death. So it goes with most of my pipe collection.

As for tobacco, I have enough of what I enjoy the most saved up to last for several years (a modest amount, nothing staggering) so I've been seeking out older tobaccos to try, including several old cutter-top tins. I don't consider them to be items of lasting value though since I intend to smoke them well before I die so my wife doesn't have an opportunity to sell them at a dollar apiece.

As for my pipes, look for them at Chicago 2060

 

[hauntedmyst]

Interesting discussion. How many adjectives are there for pedestrian? That describes my pipes and tobaccos. About the most exotic leaf I have are around 10 year old time of Esoterica. I have one full bent pipe, two 1/4 vent pipes and about 24 billiards. If they judge you on your pipe collection when you die, I will most definitely not be the next prototype for the most interesting man in the world. They've made me happy ? though!

 

[greeneyes]

I could add that the most rare thing about my pipe and tobacco collection is the time I actually have to enjoy it!

 

[bnichols23]

Runs the gamut from totally common to quite rare.

Yeah, same on this end, Frank -- from more or less ordinary to stuff that's special only to me. I've got a few artisan estates (7-8 or so) but most of my stuff is Caminetto/Ascortis & the usual Nording/Sav/pre-Cadogan GBD-Comoys/Barling/BBB, etc., a handful of 2nd-lines, & a few just plain old beater pipes.

The ones that are most special-special to me are the old Caminetto New Dear Oom Paul that I bought while working for Tinder Box all those years ago, a stellar GBD Virgin bent billiard from that same era, a Nording pickaxe that fits my hand like it was tailored to it, a Bacchus meer my wife got me for Xmas a couple of years after we were married. Not high-end, any of them, but absolutely priceless to me.

 

[stogie37]

My collection contains its fair share of distinctive and rare. If I said it was through dumb luck, that wouldn’t be accurate - but if I told you every step was premeditated with an eye toward appreciation ($$) that also wouldn’t be completely true. Here are a few examples. I bought early Ashton pipes from Bill Taylor directly because they were fantastic smokers and IMO a much better value for premium British wood that the other marks. I bought, but never smoked a number of the Llarrysson pipes he created based on the Ents from Lord of the Rings before he stopped making them, same with early Castello La Perla Nera and even first run Peterson Dunmore series pipes - all because I liked them - they just happen to be worth more now. Same for tobacco; I love McClelland Virginia so cellared deeply through the late 90’s & early 00’s and when they stopped producing the Ashton blends, I cleaned out what I could find of Pebblecut, Brindle Flake & Black Parrot. Esoterica from 2002 along with Butera Kingfisher & Pelican were an opportunity buy from a brick & mortar going out of business. The limited edition NASPC Lord of the Rings blends were clear investment plays and I bought every tin they (or any other show attendee) would sell. So the “problem” now is that I can smoke all that I want of the above, but my frugal mind says; “do you want to crack a tin of Pebblecut, or sell it and buy 5 or 6 tins of War Horse Bar (or lots of other excellent current blends) - which bring me equal enjoyment? Same with the unsmoked pipes. If you notice my “What are you smoking” posts, you’ll see I post twice as many pics smoking my EA Carey, Alpha & Peterson pipes as I do my Dunhill, Ashton & other more valuable pieces. I find great pleasure in my collection but am not sure that I won’t turn the more valuable stuff into $$ rather than smoke... It’s a wonderful “problem” to have and I consider it a blessing.

 

[Chasing Embers]

With Bruce Weaver no longer with us and McClelland gone, I guess I'm stocked up with distinctive rarities.

 

[briarbuck]

I was lucky enough to start collecting mode when you could find 15+ year old cans Christmas Cheer for well under $30. Back then there was a 30-40% premium for aged cans. These are just a few I got for under 20$ back in the good old days of Ebay.
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Mac Baren Tobacco Company	Dark Twist Roll Cake	1.75 oz	2015-11-30	42 years 00 months 13 days	$0.00		View | Edit | Open Smoke
Mac Baren Tobacco Company	Royal Twist	1.75 oz	2015-11-30	40 years 00 months 13 days	$0.00		View | Edit | Open Smoke
McClelland	Special Mixture No.8	3.5 oz	2016-11-30	25 years 00 months 13 days	$0.00		View | Edit | Open Smoke
McClelland	Jubilee (Collector Series)	1.75 oz	2016-11-30	20 years 00 months 13 days	$0.00		View | Edit | Open Smoke
Rattray	Old Gowrie	3.5 oz	2017-11-30	20 years 00 months 13 days	$0.00

For pipes, nothing "rare". But have accumulated some nice Rads, a Michael Parks (my fav), Pete's and Dunhill's. I don't keep pipes for rarity, they have to perform first and foremost.