It is so exciting to see a Pete that I knew absolutely nothing about just two weeks ago!

I did some proper research, and from what I found out, this pipe was made in a limited edition for Oestermann’s Pipe Shop in Vienna to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Austria in 1996.

The shape is what I would call a 14B, although it is quite a lot bigger than the old Shape 14 pipes I have, with the exception of my pre-Republic 308 Premier. I have been told that the original Mark Twain was a similar size, but I can’t tell for sure since I haven’t had one of those go through my workshop yet.

The nomenclature is pretty interesting too — we have the “MADE IN IRELAND” block-format COM stamp, “AUSTRIAN MILLENIUM” on the bottom, and last but not least, on the silver band, in addition to the regular Peterson stamps, we have the additional “OSTARRICHI-ÖSTERREICH” over “996-1996 MILLENIUM”.

I tried my best to figure out how many of these pipes were ever made, but unfortunately I couldn’t find anything concrete. My guess would be not very many, since this is the first one I have ever seen.

The pipes go through one final check before shipping, so if you notice any inconsistencies in the carnauba finish or smudges they will be taken care of before your pipe is shipped to you.