Before we delve into the nitty gritty of dating this beauty, let me just say that this is a barely smoked pipe, as you can see from the still existing chuck marks on the inside of the chamber.

It is also worth noticing that this pipe is from before the invention of the Unifit system. This is the Delrin ring that makes sure any Peterson meerschaum stem would fit any Peterson meerschaum pipe. Even though that sounds like a great idea, it comes with a huge compromise in my opinion — you no longer have the benefits of the tenon extension.

Well, luckily this pipe has the same stem design as the Patent-era meerschaum Petes, with a regular army mount and a proper tenon extension.

Folks born between 1939 and 1969 are usually out of luck when looking for a birth year Peterson pipe, with some exceptions of course, like London hallmarks, but those only go until 1962. Then we do have the special hallmark for 1966, but good luck finding one of those anytime soon…

Now this being said, this meer might actually be datable to exactly 1968 if my logic is correct. There are no Irish silver hallmarks from 1938 to 1968, Peterson meerschaum production was revived in 1968, and hallmarks started appearing again from 1969 onwards.

Does that mean that any “modern” Peterson meerschaum with a silver ferrule and no hallmarks was made in 1968? I think so…

This could be a really cool pipe for a young gentleman born in 1968.

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.