This display of ten cent Missouri Meerschaum cob pipes is on eBay.
There are some clues as to age.
It’s printed with a pre war style font, and there’s a Radio model on the box, which was the top model.
My first Missouri Meerschaum when I was 14 cost 40 cents, in 1972, and had that sticker on the bottom. It had a filter and is essentially the same pipe as a Legend today. 40 cents in 1972 was the universal price of a pack of cigarettes. It was the rock bottom price for a cob pipe. The minimum wage in 1972 was $1.60, and that bought four cheap pipes.
If I had to be right or die, I’d guess when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor the skinflint old bachelors and teenaged boys that bought dime pipes, suddenly got wealthy or all went off to war.
My parents said before December 7, 1941 they’d be at a railroad crossing and the trains were full of hoboes you could see in empty boxcars.
By New Year’s 1942 those trains were chock full and running flat out.
Missouri Meerschaum would have used all their cobs for the more expensive models. The minimum wage in 1941 was 30 cents, which bought three cheap pipes. But soon anybody not gone off to war would be earning 90 cents an hour.
Likely they told their retailers to put those cheapies back off the counters, or else they couldn’t buy the better ones.
NOS Lot Of 8 Vintage Missouri MEERSCHAUM Corn Cob Pipes Store Display LQQK | eBay
These pipes are in excellent condition and have never been smoked. The pipes in this lot are perfect for those who enjoy collecting or smoking pipes. They are also great for those who are looking for a unique gift for a friend or loved one.
www.ebay.com
There are some clues as to age.
It’s printed with a pre war style font, and there’s a Radio model on the box, which was the top model.
My first Missouri Meerschaum when I was 14 cost 40 cents, in 1972, and had that sticker on the bottom. It had a filter and is essentially the same pipe as a Legend today. 40 cents in 1972 was the universal price of a pack of cigarettes. It was the rock bottom price for a cob pipe. The minimum wage in 1972 was $1.60, and that bought four cheap pipes.
If I had to be right or die, I’d guess when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor the skinflint old bachelors and teenaged boys that bought dime pipes, suddenly got wealthy or all went off to war.
My parents said before December 7, 1941 they’d be at a railroad crossing and the trains were full of hoboes you could see in empty boxcars.
By New Year’s 1942 those trains were chock full and running flat out.
Missouri Meerschaum would have used all their cobs for the more expensive models. The minimum wage in 1941 was 30 cents, which bought three cheap pipes. But soon anybody not gone off to war would be earning 90 cents an hour.
Likely they told their retailers to put those cheapies back off the counters, or else they couldn’t buy the better ones.
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