Charatan Lane Era / now with reconditioned pics

[BigCasino]

howdy folks i'm trying to get a picture of a Charatan i picked up today it is a lane era for it has the L stamping on the shank the only other markings are the normal Charatans make made in london and then under that  I think is stamped possibly SG or S6 i was leaning towards the SG and thought it might stand for straight grain, cause this thing has some awesome straight grain,
my concern is it is banded and the band was either placed on the shank to repair it which is what i'm thinking  cause the band partially covers the stamping and you cant read  "make" also the stem is marked  with the CP but no L


is it safe to say that the band was for a repair or were they just sloppy?

 

[Anonymous]

There wouldn't be an "L" on the stem anyhow.

A band would probably be a repair.

There should be something stamped on the other side of the shank though -- a shape number or "Made by Hand in the City of London" (&c.) . . . something.

:face: 

 

[BigCasino]

there is only stamping on one side of the shank and after another llook and the light hit it just right I believe it is very lightly stamped Supreme but it is very light like it is almost mis stamped

your right about the L on the stem i read the article incorrectly

 

[monbla256]

There wouldn't be an "L" on the stem anyhow.

A band would probably be a repair.

There should be something stamped on the other side of the shank though -- a shape number or "Made by Hand in the City of London" (&c.) . . . something.

:face: 

This and if the repair was European, the band would have two ( if done in France or Italy) and three ( if sone in England) hallmarks if it was done in a precious metal such as Sterling Silver. If it was done in the US if marked it would usually just have Sterling stamped on it if silver and the karat of gold if done in Gold. Charatan very rarely banded their pipes and mostly in 14k gold on Executive level and up models when they did. Usually the model name was stamped below the Charatan's Make stamp and this might have been buffed off when the pipe was repaired. Love o see the pics when you get 'em

 

[BigCasino]

it appears the band has 2 halllmarks one is a shield with possibly an "X" on it with maybe something under it and the other stamp i cant decipher it is a solid stamp and it looks like a logo of an s and j and two slashes

 

[BigCasino]

here is the band , working on a pic of the whole pipe and the stamping, the pipe really is gorgeous needs some tlc but still awesome

 

[BigCasino]

and the rest of the pipe

 

[Ocelot55]

The band isn't silver, it's nickel. It is a common repair band. I've got a bunch in a box somewhere around here.

 

[monbla256]

From the grain and color of it I'd hazard a guess that it is a Special series which was repaired and the last hallmark would indicate year of repair. The British assay office had an alpha system of dating precious metal work and here's a link to the official listing by year from 1773 to 2010 of them.In the early 70s that billiard in the Special series would have been a $40.00 to $ 60.00 pipe depending on size. I have 10 Specials and ALL are GREAT smokers ! Enjoy :bounce: 

http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/date_letters.html

 

[sisyphus]

I've owned a few Specials and not one of them was a straight grain, but the OP already stated this one is stamped Supreme. Flawless Supremes are quite desirable, but even with a repair band and buffed off nomenclature it'll still be a good smoker.

 

[monbla256]

I've owned a few Specials and not one of them was a straight grain, but the OP already stated this one is stamped Supreme. Flawless Supremes are quite desirable, but even with a repair band and buffed off nomenclature it'll still be a good smoker.

Could be a Supreme, but I have one Banker Special and two Pot Specials which are as straight a grain as that one. all are the biggest size of their shape and were bought new by me back in the early 70s.

 

[Anonymous]

WOW :cheers: ! :cheers: ! :cheers: 

:heart: :face: :heart: 

 

[riff raff]

Nice find, that will clean up nicely. The CP logo is still in great shape on the stem, make sure you save that. I've never had an old Charatan that wasn't a geat smoker, betting that one will be for you as well. If you need advice in cleaning it up, give me a shout.

 

[Anonymous]

PS : If you ever get tired of it, I'd be more than happy to give it a good home. 8)  

:face: 

 

[docwatson]

Beautiful grain on that billiard. Love to see a picture once you get it restored. From the photo the damaged shank can be seen extending from the repair band if it is magnified. It should make a great smoker.

 

[monbla256]

Took a look at it again, magnified and looks like Sisyphus was correct, it looks like you got a nicely repaired Supreme level Charatan. Depending on which level it was, they had 4, it ranged in price from $150.00 up to $300.0 back in the early '70s. It was a more expensive pipe than many contemporary Dunnies back then! Ya got a GOOD one guy :twisted:  :twisted: 

 

[BigCasino]

Thanks for all of your help gentlemen, I had a feeling it was special when I saw how gorgeous the grain looked, I couldn't find any really good info on them, but I knew with all the wisdom around here about these things someone would know.
I truly do admire the knowledge you guys have and thanks for sharing it!

 

[riff raff]

It is said that there is some inaccuracies in this story, but it is a good read.

http://hozzenplozz.de/CharatanbyIRyan.htm

 

[Harlock999]

Congrats!

 

[BigCasino]

here are the pics after I cleaned her up