Dunhill Appraisal?

[sirgeorge]

The other day out of curiosity, a fellow pipe smoking buddy and I popped into an antique shop. After poking around a bit, I asked the lady if she had any pipes. She said yes and took me over to a display case where she pulled out some ornate briars carved into the shapes of buffalos, horses and faces of old men, a few clay pipes, as well as a ridiculously over priced meerschaum. None of them where really my style, so I asked if she had anything else. She again replied yes, but this time pulled out a big clear plastic bag containing a bunch of old pipes and pipe bits. As I dug through a mess of heavily caked, burnt and even cracked briars I came across a decent looking Dublin. The finish was dull, it had a thick black cake around the rim, but the rim didn’t look eroded or badly burnt. The vulcanite was a muddy green colour, but peeking through the top was a little white dot...Could it be? I polished the shaft with my thumb to expose what I was hoping for “Dunhill London”.

My heart skipped a beat, but I kept my cool when I asked “what would you have to have for this one?”

“How about $18” she replied. GULP! Not to seem too eager I paused for what felt like forever to me, but I’m sure was only a few seconds. Then my buddy got interested in what I had in my hand and asked to take a look, but before he got a good look I spurted out “well it’s going to need a lot of cleaning, would you take $13?”....SOLD!

I handed it to my buddy (a veteran pipe smoker) who knew in a second of it being in his hand what it was. As he mouthed the words “You F**king Bastard” to me, I paid the lady.

Merry Christmas to me!

I’ve since had it bathed, buffed and polished to remove the years of abuse and brought back to its original lustre, by a pipesmith friend of mine.

After doing some research I was able to date it.

– 1935 Dunhill (A) Bruyere, Patent Pending (PAT.N0.417574), Made in England (15), Model (42) Dublin and it has an inner tube.

All that being said, I can’t find any for sale or any history of one being sold, so I have no idea of what it’s worth. Does anybody out there have any idea?

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for taking the time during this busy season to read my story.
Happy Holidays,

Sir George

 

[tobakenist]

What a brilliant find, Dunhill collectors would die for that, have no Idea of exact value but you would be sure to make over $100 profit on it, add it to your collection and enjoy. ::

 

[buckeye]

nice find over a 100 easy.

 

[ace57]

Good going, Enjoy! :D

 

[bigvan]

I think mlyvers is right; $200 on the low end, $300 on the high end. 5 or 10 years ago you could probably get between $500 or $600.

 

[harrumphicus]

Keep it, mate. In 14 years it'll jump into triple digits!
Plus that's a snazzy $13 pipe.

 

[markw4mms]

What a great find! I can only hope to have luck like that one day. Enjoy your "new" Dunhill in good health! Merry Christmas!

 

[nsfisher]

lucky son of a gun lol congrats and hang on to it.

 

[tslex]

This is exactly the experience I long to have someday at a shop or garage sale.

 

[daveinlax]

Condition is the key to value. What does the rim look like? Crisp or rounded, black or slightly darkened? How is the chamber? Solid and straight, charred pockets or over reamed? Nomenclature? Crisp and easily readable or buffed down to hard to read or gone? Look at eBay's completed listings for similar Dunhill shapes and conditions for a very rough idea on value. ENJOY! 8O

 

[olderthandirt]

I do so enjoy "right place, right time" stories.
In and of itself, looks like a nice dublin for the money.

The collectable aspect of it being an older Dunhill... great find!!

 

[mluyckx]

Very nice find. And indeed, a merry Christmas to you !

 

[jchaplick]

Damn, I guess i should go check some antique stores huh???

 

[jameral]

That's an awsome find. Just goes to show that it doesn't hurt to ask if at first you don't see what you like or want. :clap:

 

[sirgeorge]

Thanks for all the comments and best wishes guys. I plan on keeping this one even just for the story alone, but it also smokes great...amazingly actually.
@daveinlax - Everything with the bowl is solid, however there is some dark discolouration on the rim around the opening that my pipesmith said he didn't want to buff off, because it may remove some of the stain. I hear burning is common in that area with Dunhill's and mine probably faired so well because of the cake. The stamping/lettering is lighter than original, but still legible. Thanks for the tips.
Merry Christmas!

 

[uberam3rica]

Damn $13 for a Dunhill? You lucky bastard

 

[rigmedic1]

It's a Christmas Miracle! Sone guys have all the luck. Keep it forever and enjoy the pipe and the envy of your fellow pipers, my friend. ::

 

[ssjones]

I'm guessing around $200 or so, as BigVan says. I think that Zulu shape also maybe one of the less common shapes, adding to the value. Smoke it carefully now and get $500 for it in five years

 

[seakayak]

There's a big antique shop around the corner from my office. You've convinced me to drop by for a visit tomorrow morning. Nicely done!

 

[sirgeorge]

Good luck seakayak! Let us know how you make out.