The research Jguss has done so far has revealed that somehow, Lee purchased a huge stash of briar that was being held by one of the almost countless different government wartime holding companies, sometime in early 1946.
The demobilization of 12 million United States soldiers was not something done overnight.
Every one of those millions boys had a relieved Blue Star mother, that her son would live to comb gray hair, and she'd not become a Gold Star mother.
About ninety per cent were cigarette smokers, and a carton of cigarettes would have not been nearly as classy a gift as a fancy pipe with a gold filled band, or gold stars, for their homecoming.
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Definition
In the United States, the quality of gold-filled jewelry is defined by the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If the gold layer is 10kt fineness, the minimum weight of the plated layer on an item stamped "GF" must equal at least 1⁄20th of the total weight of the item. If the gold layer is 12 kt or higher, the minimum layer of karat gold in an item stamped "GF" must equal at least 1⁄20th the total weight of the item. The most common stamps found on gold-filled jewelry are 1⁄20th 12kt GF and 1⁄20th 14kt GF. Also common is 1⁄10th 10kt. These standards are for modern gold-filled items. It is not uncommon to see 1⁄8 14kt gold-filled marks, plus many other variations, on items from the 1930s, 1940s, etc., which would have to be marked "Rolled Gold Plate".[
citation needed]
The Federal Trade Commission allows the use of the terms "rolled gold plate," "R.G.P" or "gold overlay" on items with lower thicknesses of gold than are required for "gold-filled."
[2] An example would be an item stamped as "1⁄40 10kt RGP" meaning that the object is plated with 10kt gold at a thickness that makes weight of the plated layer equal to one-fortieth of the weight of the metal parts of the object.
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Those Blue Star mothers and lonesome sweethearts and wives weren't looking for the cheapest pipe to give their hero, home at last from the war.
Lee was selling the world's best pipes, a brand new item, limited editions made from authentic imported briar, in the shops at $5 and $10, and special order for $15 and $25.
But for $3.50 you could give a Gold Coast pipe, with a genuine gold filled band.
Really now, wasn't that soldier worth $10?
It explains why so many Three Star grade Lees.
Small char on the rim. I didn’t sand it out because I didn’t want to reshape the rim.
