I find early 20th century pipes all the time, and I some very fine examples and some beat up knockers. I prefer the beat up pipes that had been smoked HARD. Oh the stories they could tell.
I'm a collector, but more importantly I’m a pipe smoker. What happens to my pipes and baccy after I’m worm food is of little consequence to me. Of course my children know my preferences, but I won’t be here to supervise the sale and or filled dumpster, so I’m not going to worry.
When you think about collections passing hands here’s a real example of why I do not concern myself.
Ten years ago my father and I sat down and categorized his rather extensive Casino Chip collection. We went through a current price and grading book. All told it took roughly three days.
My father passed and per his instructions we contacted the gentleman who could assist in selling his collection. The gentleman came over, photographed each page of chips and then painstakingly went through each page looking for the rare, high value chips.
Three weeks later the gentleman returned with his current estimate and plan to sell the collection. He was going to sell them at chip collection shows, eBay and his connections.
Fast forward to today, about five and a half years since my fathers passing and the slow slog of sales continues.
Here’s the punch line. Ten years ago the chips were valued at approximately $200,000. When the appraisal was given five years ago the value was approximately $25,000.
So what changed, it was an easy answer, chip collectors were dying and the inheritors didn’t want to be chip collectors, so the market is flooded with rare high value chips.
A simple example is a $1 chip from the Landmark Casino. The chip was valued at $1,500 because of the grade, color and specific design of this chip. The 2010 price guide estimate less than 100 chips existed due to limited run and known scarcity. In 2015 there were approximately 1,000 for sale. Turns out private, “quiet collectors”, were holding chips so close it skewed the market and valuations. That $1,500 chip was now worth an astonishing $75.
So, every month I receive a check from the guy selling my late fathers collection. The largest check was $650 and the smallest check sent was $5. It averages $25 a month. The $650 was an outlier and the first check. The highest grade chips sold immediately at a shocking fraction of the previous value.
While I’m grateful for every penny the collection has brought in, it is a staggering eye opener and a lesson on how transferring my pipe/baccy collection to my heirs can be a blessing and curse.
