Dunhill Pipe Prices in the 60's

[dontinhale]

Saw this guy on e-bay that payed $3400 for an unsmoked Dunhill pipe with box and papers. was that a good deal ?

what did that pipe cost in 1960 ?

 

[sablebrush52]

The buyer thought so, I hope. This is a totally subjective matter. Was the Dunhill in question a rare and desirable model, or a higher grade?

 

[mso489]

Interesting point. One of our Dunhill experts, foggymountain, recollected that at one point, maybe in the 1950's, Kaywoodies were the primo pipe, and Dunhills cost somewhat less and were not especially expensive by standards at the time. Foggy' worked in a pipe shop as a teenager, as I recall, and I'm not sure if that was the price structure when he was at the pipe shop, or if that was earlier. Maybe he'll chime in. Jacking up the price of Dunhills was a market strategy introduced over time until it became associated with the brand.

 

[sablebrush52]

One of our Dunhill experts, foggymountain, recollected that at one point, maybe in the 1950's, Kaywoodies were the primo pipe, and Dunhills cost somewhat less and were not especially expensive by standards at the time.

It was the 1930's and 1940's. By the later 1950's S&M Frank had reduced the Kaywoodie to the status of a drugstore pipe.

 

[warren]

If the buyer liked the price, it was in deed a good deal.
Yup, when I hit college in the mid-60s, Kaywoodies were purchased at the local Woolworths.

 

[menuhin]

I looked it up a bit and found that out:
In 1966, a 2-oz tin of Dunhill tobacco costed 18 GBP, a 4-oz tin costed £36.

In the same catalogue, a cased Dunhill 2-pipes set costed £26, and a cased 3-pipes set at £34. Dunhill 7-pipes set in a case could be had at £97, and a Dunhill Straight-grain grade some special grading markings could be had from £14.
In 1966, the average housing costs £3,620 (now ~ £62,000), the average car costs £950 (now ~ £16,000), and the average annual wage was £891 (now ~ £15,000).

 

[dontinhale]

wow !! so $36 for 2 pipes !!!

 

[jguss]

Was the Dunhill in question a rare and desirable model, or a higher grade?

The pipe in question was a DR F offered by thesecondhandsmoker. A rare pipe indeed; as Gary Malmberg notes in his listing an F is equivalent to 6 stars. Rarer still to be unsmoked and come with the original inner tube in its bore.
The problem with trying to determine the value in today's dollars by rolling forward the original selling price is that the historical price lists I have access to only list standard pipes; this is something special. Perhaps one of the serious Dunhill collectors will see this thread and have better information. And of course the fallacy of adjusting the original price for subsequent inflation is that this started out as a rarity and is now rarer still by virtue of its age and condition.

 

[dontinhale]

yes...that is the seller

The starting price was $5

 

[jguss]

For what it's worth Loring's website transcribes a 1999 price list that says a DR 6 star sold new would have cost $3185 at that time.

 

[sablebrush52]

Well, $3400 for an unsmoked, cased, DR F isn't exactly chump change, but it doesn't altogether surprise me considering the value collectors place on extremely rare collectible pipes. The price has nothing to do with the pipe's smoking properties, only its level of desirability. And don't forget that it took more than one bidder to send the pipe to that level.

 

[menuhin]

Correction about Dunhill tobacco price: that was 18 pennies and 36 pennies for the 2-oz and 4-oz tins.

But they raised the price quite quickly to slightly above £1 and slightly above £2 in 1969.
And additional info:

"D" grade Dunhill pipe in 1966 was at £35 from factory.

And graded Dunhill pipes were listed to have a range from £14-£100.

In 1969, they listed the range from £25-£250.

 

[doctorbob]

I think you'll find the tobacco prices as 16/- and 36/-. In other words 16 and 36 shillings.
Doc

 

[menuhin]

Posting the original catalogues.
1966-67:

1969-70:

 

[doctorbob]

Yup, a number followed by a slash, then a dash is the price in shillings. A number with a slash and another number would be shillings and pence. The Pound hadn't decimalized yet.
Doc

 

[mso489]

It's a little difficult to translate the prices to account for inflation and circumstances in various locations at the time, but Dunhill's weren't at the high end price category they are in today, even in the 60's it seems. But we have to go back to the 30's or 40's to find them in the affordable category, I learn.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Indeed, BP 18 too dear; 18 p too cheap; 18 shillings is on the money.

 

[fishingandpipes]

One thing I'm never really sure of, being a younger guy, is what folks actually earned during that time. 14 pounds for a Dunhill sounds fantastic, but if you only made 5,000 pounds a year it's suddenly rather more dear.
It makes me realize that while I know inflation and costs have increased and wages have remained stagnant for awhile that I've never really looked into average wages. I'm young enough that I hear stories of baby boomers putting themselves through college working part time jobs, which is now a rather ludicrous thought. They then went on to buy houses and raise families. Nowadays college debt alone is enough to put the kaibosh on home buying for quite some time / forever for most.
So maybe 14 pounds was a lot for a Dunhill even then, especially if the top tier tipped the scales at 100. But then you have to factor in any number of other variables where even accounting for inflation pipe manufacturers can charge more.

 

[paulfg]

to given some perspective in 1969 the average weekly wage for a teacher was 1650 GBP ,about 32 pounds a week
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/1969-the-year-everything-changed-1752220.html
in 2017 it was 510 pounds
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/wages

 

[paulfg]

so in 1969 you could buy 2.28 pipes with 1 weeks wage 32/14 =2.28

you would need to buy each pipe today for 510/2,28 = 223.7 GBP to be equivalent

Looking on this site the cheapest are somewhat more expensive
http://www.smoke.co.uk/acatalog/Dunhill_Pipes.html