Estate Sale - Flee Market - Garage Sale Finds

KA9FFJ

I'd love to see some of your finds out there. Please post your results from pipe hunting here...

Recently found this CAO meerschaum at a local flee market and thought I'd share. $30, but I thought it was more than worth it...

jfreedy

I have a few general questions here. What has been your percentage of success finding decent pipes that aren’t over priced at estate/garage/antique sales? I’ve gone to several and never feel like they’re worth the effort? 30 years ago I bought my first (& only) quality antique store pipe and haven’t found anything worth buying since. Do you guys shop antique stores & estate sales anyway and happen to find good pipes from time to time, or are you going there specifically to find a pipe? I love the idea of finding that rare treasure that someone doesn’t realize they have and getting a great deal, but I just keep striking out. Also, any tips that have made this more successful for you would be great. 

KA9FFJ

@jfreedy Well, speaking for myself, it's a lot like going to a Goodwill. Some days you walk in an find absolutely nothing, and other days you walk in and have to get a cart to put in all your findings...
I usually stay away from "antique" places because of over-pricing. However, if you do find something, I have found sometimes they are willing to deal. 
Go to estatesales.net and plug in your zip along with other parameters and who knows, you might get lucky...

KA9FFJ

Here's one sitting out at a local flee market right now. The owner took a break so I don't know the asking price. It's a huge chunk of meerschaum... Definitely a rocking chair pipe...

Winton

A few years ago, I bought a pipe at an estate sale. The stamping said Marshall Fields. Obviously, this is an old pipe. 

KA9FFJ

 Would love to see a pic @Winton

ghostsofpompeii

@jfreedy Unless the seller is extremely knowledgeable and has done his or her homework you can still get a pretty decent deal at an Estate Sale or resale shop. Antique stores around me seem to research every pipe in their showcase, cause I can't find a good deal at any of them lately. But the resale shops around me seem to bunch all the pipes together and slap a $5.00 or $15.00 tag on them regardless of the pipe's pedigree. I recently posted a few pictures of a Burl-King Thumbhole Bridge pipe my son picked-up at an Estate sale for $15.00, so there are deals out there to be made.   

PappyJoe

I have quite a few that I’ve posted on here. Sometimes I don’t find anything, sometimes I find stuff when I’m not looking. 
 
We are playing tourist up around Birmingham, Alabama and I’ve seen about 10 pipes but nothing worth the money. 

When I get home I’ll post some photos. 

KA9FFJ

I remember a few of your finds @PappyJoe If I recall, you found some real beauties. If you don't mind digging some of them up now and then, a lot us us would enjoy viewing them again... or for the first time, whatever the case...

PappyJoe

here are some of my finds.

top to bottom: Brittania, Big Ben Crosley and Salmon & Gluckstein (silver band hallmarked for 1890) I paid a total of $50 for all three at two different antique shops in Beaumont, Texas.

PappyJoe

An original Mauro Armellini from the 1970s. I emailed Armellini pipes in Italy and Vilma Armellini confirmed that it was carved by her father. I paid $25 for it at an antique shop in Denham Springs, LA.

PappyJoe

An Ascorti Business I paid $30 for it in Pontchatoula, LA.

PappyJoe

Ok. This one is really going to get you guys. I was walking around a street fair and saw this pipe sitting on top of a glass case. The guy said he would take $3.00 for it.
It's a La Savinelli Giubileo d'Oro made before the mid-1970s according to Savinelli. (I emailed them photos). I've been offered up to $300 for it.

KA9FFJ

@PappyJoe You're the man!

Winton

A new guy at our pipe club on Saturday, was smoking a 18" meer with carving on the stem and bowl. I believe the bowl was of a sultan. The stem unscrewed into three parts. He said he bought it unsmoked at a swap meet for $10.

KA9FFJ

Me that's a find!  I don't care who you are @Winton...

PappyJoe

Earlier this month, I found a Peterson Kapp-Royal and a Søren Danish freehand. I've posted photos and write ups about them in other discussions on the forum.
Last weekend, I found a Preben Holm Delight - also posted in another discussion.
I called the flea market I found the Preben Holm on Wednesday and bought a Ben Wade Martinique and the bowl of a Ben Wade Royal Grain. Both were made in Denmark.

This is the bowl of the Royal Grain:


This is the bowl of the Martinique. The Martinique has an acrylic stem which I took off before starting the cleaning process.

KA9FFJ

@PappyJoe NICE... NICE... NICE! ...

rumrum4me

I haven't had all that much luck where I live. Here's a couple I've found over the years. First is an old WDC stamped Italian Briar. Has a silver band, and an orifice type of button. The other is a four digit Savinelli Punto Oro. 

KA9FFJ

@rumrum4me Like them both... Great finds...

Fozzie

How does a person know what is a buy and what isn’t? Is it years of experience or are there pipe brands that are always good to grab? I’ve been smoking a pipe for a few years but always use cobs as it’s just easier and I tend to be rough on my pipes. But if I had a nice one to care for.......

PappyJoe

Fozzie, not to toot my own horn, but read through the articles on my blog - pappyjoesblog.com - I have a number of posts about estate pipes and what to look for. Also, bookmark pipedia.org and pipephil.eu on you phone’s browser. Both are good resources for learning about what you are looking for.

Dont immediately bypass pipes like Kaywoodies and Dr. Grabow either. Some of them are good smokers and collectible. 

KA9FFJ

@Fozzie @PappyJoe is right-on concerning his blog. A lot of good and valuable info there. A great place to start...

KA9FFJ

The wife and 2 more couples took a short road trip up the Great River Road from Alton, IL to Grafton, IL. Beautiful day... Beautiful sights...
One stop was at an old shop in Grafton. Found this no-name pipe for $5. I'll give it a little TLC and see what results I get...

PappyJoe

Examine it carefully. It may not be a no name. 

KA9FFJ

Thanks @PappyJoe Went over it again with a magnifying glass... Not a mark anywhere. Usually even no-names have some stamp: e.g. a number, "SPECIAL", "HANDMADE". etc. But I found nothing. Very nice pipe and the mechanics are top-notch. Cleaning it up now... Pics a little later...

KA9FFJ

Well, it cleaned up pretty good. Not too much work involved... Here's the little guy cleaned inside and out, and buffed... I'd say it was a good find for $5...

PappyJoe

Two cheap finds at a arts/craft fair which had an antique booth. These were $10 each. 
The Canadian is stamped Algerian Briar Made in France on the bottom and a C inside a circle on the stem. It is stamped "Canadian" on the top of the shank.
The smaller pipe is a CBP Heritage Alexander Hamilton 307 Made in Holland. From what I found it's a pipe made for C.B. Perkins which was located in Boston and in New Jersey. Some of their pipes were made in London but this one was made in Holland.

ghostsofpompeii

My wife and I have hit up at least two dozen antique shops as we've been attending Fall Festivals from around Indiana ... and it's been something of a drought as it pertains to old Estate pipes. Not only haven't I found any pipes worth buying ... I haven't found any pipes. Usually I'll locate one or two antique shops with a few pipes on display ... but I've been coming up empty everywhere I go. Don't know if that means more people are buying pipes - or shop keepers are no longer stocking them because they don't move.  

PappyJoe

Don't know if it's good news or bad news, the lady at the booth where I found the pipes said they try and research the pipes they get before pricing them and keep the higher priced pipes in their storefront for sale. The two I bought were in a basket with several others - including two cobs - that were all marked $10. She was surprised when I told her that people could buy brand new Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipes for less than she was asking for her beat up, heavily smoked ones. She had assumed they were antiques.

KenofAhwlby

Well, PappyJo, if she researches the pipes like she said she does, then she would know that the cobs aren’t antiques.
I have seen to many ‘antique dealers’, flea market operators,,,,estate sale people, to have much faith in them or trust, for that matter.