Unopened Balkan Sobranie 759. Fair price to pay?

[craiginthecorn]

I have a line on an unopened pull tab black tin Balkan Sobranie 759 in good condition. I believe it is a 4oz or 100g tin. I'll learn that tomorrow.
What is this a fair price for this?

 

[Chasing Embers]

I've seen it go for over $700 several times.

 

[philobeddoe]

If there is no rust and it’s sounds solid when you shake it, $600.00 - $1000.00. If it sounds like it’s full of rice, walk away. If you see rust, but it still sounds solid $300.00 - $400.00.

 

[craiginthecorn]

From the photo, the tin looks rust-free, but it's a poor photo. The seller has it priced about what i'd be willing to pay, based upon these price ranges of $300+. They stumbled into the right price, however, by overvaluing everything else in the lot.
Thanks for the price info and guidelines. It's a big help.

 

[woodsroad]

I've smoked vintage 759, thanks to Pipestud (very generously) donating a door prize at the West Coast show a few years back. I shared it with my friends at the Lehigh Valley Pipe Club. It was a good smoke, unlike anything else that I'd smoked previously, but I don't think that I would pay anywhere near its actual value, were I to buy another tin (with the intent on smoking it). As an investment...that's a different story.

 

[craiginthecorn]

Well, it turned out to be only 2 oz and with a bit of what I thought was surface rust, but on closer inspection, it's rusted through. The tobacco sounds OK, for what that's really worth. Prior to discovering that the rust was worse than I thought,I paid her $150 for the lot.
Probably not a sound investment after all. Oh well. At least it's not a 4 oz tin.
I also got a half dozen 2-digit Kaywoodies, a Falcon, an LHS Purex, a couple of cobs, and the usual walnut racks and a six pipe walnut humidor.

 

[josephcross]

Interested to see what’s on the inside of the tin.

 

[philobeddoe]

Sounds like you did well, with or without the 759. I would open the 759 and see if it’s smokeable or if it needs rehydration, good luck!

 

[craiginthecorn]

At least I can smell the delightful Balkan aroma if I squeeze and niff near the rust spot. So there's good hope for it. It's definitely going to need hydrating.

 

[josephcross]

If there’s smell, there’s taste. Seems like you’re on the verge of smoking some 759! Congrats!

 

[craiginthecorn]

I've decided to list the tin on eBay as a Buy It Now. If it sells, fine. If not, I'll pop the top, rehydrate, and enjoy.

 

[craiginthecorn]

As promised, if it didn't sell (it didn't), I am keeping it and will enjoy it myself. I cracked open the tin a week ago. Inside was much rustier than the exterior, but the tobacco was in overall good shape, albeit dry. I weighed it and found it to be about 3/10ths of an ounce below the original weight. I put it in a half gallon Mason jar, topped it with a couple ScotchBrite pads, then added a paper towel, soaked with bottled water and well wrung out.
I opened it upon my return home from a business trip to Atlanta, which included a very enjoyable evening with npod, who very generously shared some original Bengal Slices and some well-aged Butera Pelican. Both were ethereal! Back to the 759. I was delighted to find that the tobacco had rehydrated beautifully. Now it weighs 2.02 ounces. I've tried rehydrating some very old and dry tobacco preciously and found it was stubborn. It was almost like it rehydrated only to a surface level, as the tobacco stayed firm in texture. Not the 759. It feels like a freshly opened tin! I'm going to give it another few weeks to fully stabilize, then fire it up.
Any recommendations for the ideal pipe?

 

[pipestud]

Good luck on that Sobranie 759. I can tell you from first hand experience, you will taste the rust and it will be... well, very unpleasant. Re humidifying the tobacco also seems to bring out the worst in the "rust dust." I am also not real sure about the safety of even getting a little rust inhaled into the lungs, but darned sure don't want to take the chance. I sell (at a greatly discounted price), tins that show up that are dried out, but when I open the tin and spot rust on the inside, then it goes into the nearest trash can. Please be cautious.

 

[craiginthecorn]

Thanks for the warning, Steve. If I taste, rust, I’ll shelve the idea.

 

[mrenglish]

Smooth but with a hint of rust.
Good luck with rehydrating. Hopefully, you will be in for some tasty 759.

 

[admiral]

On the pricing part - only being a Sobranie would not be enough (at least for me).

Given the fact that the tin is in a good/sealed condition, next thing to command the price would be from which period it is coming.

Is it produced from Gallaher? Or it is earlier Sobranie version?

Put all that aside - ask Pipestud for most accurate pricing

 

[dorianc]

So $700.00 for a 4 oz tin?
I have 2 200g tins from around 1996 from Sobranie of London. How much would they be worth?
The tin looks like the ones from this pipes article: Sobranie Throwdown
Thanks,
DC

 

[disinformatique]

I'll smoke a GL Pease blend and keep the money for something else.
Chris :puffpipe:

 

[jguss]

If it is indeed the exact same kind of tin as was used in the 2011 Throwdown then it’s a 200 gram screwtop canister with a sealed foil pouch inside. You should be able to open the tin, if you wish, without compromising its contents, and inspect the pouch to confirm its integrity. Can you post pictures of the exterior of the tin? Why do you think it dates from 1996?

 

[dorianc]

I bought the tins right before they stopped making it and I believe that was around 1996. I got married and my wife didn't like me smoking so I have had them since then. Yes, I can post pictures later after I get off work. Yes, they are 200g tin. I even have an old black and gold foil pouch of 759 that I smoked a couple of bowls out of. haha.
DC