When it comes to collectible pipes, what matters most is the age, if it was a limited release, were the pipes numbered, and also in some cases the reason for the release (for example pipe of the year, Father’s Day, etc). Then we also have the grade of the pipe – some releases get higher grades than others, just like the Christmas pipes are pretty low grade and the pipe of the years are much higher ones.

Keeping all of this in mind I want to present to you a pipe from Peterson’s first ever limited and numbered Commemorative Release – the Centenary.

Here is what Mark Irwin’s Blog PPN has to say about the Centenary:
“In 1975, K&P celebrated what it then thought of as its centennial year, which was actually the year Charles Peterson was hired by Frederick Kapp to work at the Dublin shop. Kapp—and Peterson, in other words. Harry Kapp had retired in 1970 but was still casting a paternal eye over the company, which acquired Tennant & Ruttle in 1974, when the company officially dropped the “Kapp” and became the “Peterson Tennant Group.” The company had moved to its new Sallynoggin factory locale in 1972 (?), but was still on the ascendence, making more pipes in its history than ever before.
To celebrate, in 1975 the company released their first serially numbered collectibles, culling pipes from most of the catalog, all high grades and all bearing the distinctive Centenary stamp on sterling bands. These were numbered according to the number of bowls available for each shape, whether in the System or Classic Range, thus, for example, there were 11 4s Systems created. Other shapes were released in upwards of 100 pipes.”

I just want to add a bit more to that, from my personal experience – I tried researching the line and I couldn’t find a single pipe available for sale on ebay or anywhere else, I even couldn’t find any sold ones. Additionally there is quite a lot of mystery surrounding the number stamps – I have seen quite a few pipes with regular looking stamps (38/100), but I have also seen several quite “special” ones. For example my personal Centenary is 20s and it has a shamrock followed by a number 3 stamped on the bottom and noone knows what this means.

This stunning 150 Centenary is also not quite standard – first of all it is the first 150 centenary I have ever seen and noone I asked knew they made a centenary in this shape. Last but not least the number “stamp” is a combination of single digit stamps and a hand-carved line, and it says 31/3… I will leave the new owner of this beauty to figure out this pipes’s mystery.

One more note about the condition: on the right side of the pipe there is a natural flaw in the briar which Peterson decided to leave in the pipe, so I followed their example and didn’t touch it.

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.