Old Mystery Pipe with Mystery Hallmarks, Pics

[agnosticpipe]

Here's another eBay find I couldn't resist for $3.95. Photos were horrible, so grainy and dark, but it looked interesting. It was in good condition, in fact I don't think it had ever been smoked. Dirty on the outside but the shank and stem showed no color on the first try with alcohol. Super dark stain, and the shank cap was scratched and dented, but it still cleaned up pretty good. The only marks on the briar is "Italian Briar" on the shank. The cap has 3 hallmarks that I can only identify one of, the anchor which I think means Birmingham. The stem has a orifice rather than a slot, so that's the only thing that leads me to believe it was an old pipe. Every thing else is a mystery especially the hallmarks, as far as I'm concerned they could just be gobblygook! Any ideas?

 

[jguss]

It's a beautiful old pipe, and in great condition. Congratulations on your find!
My guess is that it's American and not British, given the strictness of the hallmarking requirements in the UK. American "hallmarks" of that era were frequently meaningless. The anchor doesn't look like the Birmingham anchor to me, and the other marks don't appear to represent purity, a maker's mark, or a date code.
But it is an amazing deal on a very neat pipe; are you going to smoke it?

 

[sablebrush52]

It's also possible that it's not sterling silver, but silver plated nickel. I've seen similar markings on pipes where that was the case.

 

[pitchfork]

What those guys said.
Cool pipe, though. Nice grain and no obvious fills, at least from these angles. And at that price, it's cheaper than a latte.

 

[agnosticpipe]

Cool, thanks for the info guys! I had no illusions that this was some rare pipe, but I do love old pipes. I figured that the hallmarks were rather bogus, and Jesse I think you're right about the silver plate, as an area where the dent is on the end of the cap looks to have lost some plating there. It still looks kinda like silver underneath just a shade different as nickel would be. Probably a basket pipe from the 1920s? LOL Oh it does have one fill on the bottom of the bowl, it's really dark and is hardly noticeable.

But I did load it up with some FM Cellar and it has a open draw and smokes just fine. ::

 

[jpmcwjr]

Helluva deal, and she'll give you many years of joy! Great to hear she smokes well.

 

[agnosticpipe]

While looking up some info on CPF (Colossus Pipe Factory) pipes, I came across this hallmark stamped on the bands of couple of CPF pipes. So either my pipe was made by CPF or the bands were made by a band supplier at the time that used that hallmark? Not real important, but interesting anyway.

 

[ssjones]

Peterson also used faux hallmarks on some of their nickel banded pipes (Shamrock shown here).

 

[pitchfork]

So either my pipe was made by CPF or the bands were made by a band supplier at the time that used that hallmark?

That's really interesting. The ship's anchor (in imitation of Birmingham's mark) is pretty common on bands like that, as is the star, but I'm not sure about the chicken. In other words, is this combination unique to CPF or common among various makers. I suspect someone here will know the answer.

 

[agnosticpipe]

I think I found out what the bird is in the hallmark... The Happy Bird from Little Orley's adventures.

Sorry, I couldn't resist :nana:

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Great find. Looks like a nice older pipe. Not sure if the hallmarks are real or faux marks but either way it was a steal of a deal.
I have a WDC Brighton Bulldog from around the 1910-1920s with faux marks on the brass band. While they mean nothing, it adds character to the look of the pipe.

 

[nevadablue]

Congratulations on the find! You have re-confirmed my 'need' to keep watching for deals on ebay.

 

[sablebrush52]

While looking up some info on CPF (Colossus Pipe Factory) pipes, I came across this hallmark stamped on the bands of couple of CPF pipes. So either my pipe was made by CPF or the bands were made by a band supplier at the time that used that hallmark?

Here's another possibility, the pipes were made by CPF as private label stock. Fascinating possibilities. What would be needed would be the same set of hallmarks on differently branded pipes.

 

[nevadablue]

The Google reverse image search failed me. Maybe others will have better luck. Sending the original photo from above returned 'pool cue'. Not a bad guess, but no use. So, I cropped the image to just show the band and stampings. That came back with 'metal'. Brilliant. It was fun though. Lots of rings and firearm nomenclature and dribbling down to other silly stuff. Fun though.

 

[dmcmtk]

Good sleuthing on CPF Orley!

 

[balkisobrains]

I'm no expert, but the CPF hallmarks look like they were stamped, while the hallmarks on the first pipe look like they were etched or engraved. :puffpipe: