Milestone

As I approach 100 LEs, I realize how dedicated I have become to this disease called HL collecting. Should we recognize those who have reached this level of insanity? Some of you old timers, since '91, did this years ago. How did it feel? In about 2 months I will and I cannot wait untul then.

Moby

I always felt the major milestone for me was when I made the decision to collect the entire LE set. It was grounded in my love of lighthouses and my love of HL, and it was also a financial decision. I needed two more of the Belles to complete the magnificent seven, St. Simon and Ocracoke. Through a stroke of luck, St. Simon fell in my lap at a great price, and that did it for me. Like JC I may never get a Coquille, we'll see.

100 LEs is a serious collection, let us know when you get there and which one is #100. Then, only 60 or so more to go. :-) Have fun!

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/im

Thanks for you insight Tim. I do not expect to obtain all but I can no longer say this is a spare time only deal. I now have to be careful not to drive those around me crazy over the subject.

Moby

..how about taking a great idea one step further......
those with 25 or more HL's....Bronze Collector. Those with 50 or more....Silver Collector. Those with 100 or more...Gold Collector. Those with more than 150 are considered a Diamond Collector. Finally, those with over 200 would be considered a Platum Collector. No details....just a thought.......
P.S. How would it be monitored? It wouldn't....it would be on the Honor System

[This message has been edited by Brent (edited 07-18-2000).]

Well... according to Brent, I am in the "Silver" category, but well on my way to "Gold." I'm wondering where I'm going to put them all when I reach "Diamond?" According to Jackie, a third curio is out of the question. LOL

Tim - Keeping the flame lit...

From my experience they seem to at first just tolerate this lighthouse addition, but after a while it kind of grows on them.

Silver Sue

Hi Moby

As for driving those around you crazy -- beware; like Sue said it grows on them; they too will get hooked and probably end up driving you crazy; in the beginning (1991)it was "my collection"; now both my husband and I enjoy it together; it is hard to figure out sometimes who is the bigger lighthouse nut; then after you get a good size collection, you start going to visit places you never thought you would to see the real thing; our only problem is where to display them--it's like a museum here with seven curios, the top of the entertainment center and video cabinet, plus a shelf Al built accross the wall above our couch, all displaying Harbour Lights oh well; enjoy your collection; let me know what number 100 is; mine was Thomas Point, MD
Darlene, Platnum Collector

Gold it is, gaining fast on Diamond. Looked up my 100th. It was Grand Traverse purchased this past March. The neat thing is it happens to be my lowest number #86 which I loved because it is my youngest son's birth year. A good omen I thought as I've added 20+ since then.

Displaying them has reared it's ugly head. One curio jammed, including top. Two other five foot long shelves. Now boxes in the corner. One arrived today courtesy of Dennis, one on it's way from E-bay, another enroute from Don's lighthouses. Sometimes it's scary!

Need to get more display/curio set up. Have this alcove (old closet minus doors) in the dining room. Have to either put a curio or set it up with lots of shelves. Organize! Display! Help!

Donna

Donna, maybe you could put shelves in that closet, light it somehow and put a door on it that has lots of glass?

I think its about time you consider an "addition" onto your house....

(or maybe enclose the carport or garage)

Mombo,

Funny that you mention it but I've benn toying with that idea all along. I have money set aside for a new curio but thought I could just as well use it for shelving, lighting and doors. The doors seem to be my hang-up. The closet originally had two wooden sliders so I thought bi-folds with glass.

Saw some in my old Sears catalog (last time they had a catalog), but don't know who manufactured them. All I have seen in stores have too much wood framing, Tried a search on the internet for the doors but didn't find what I want.

Of course I could just place a curio in the space but then I would waste so much of the closet's depth & width. I'd much rather turn the whole closet into a display area. Meanwhile the boxes pile up.....

Donna

Have you thought about french doors, Donna? Quite a few of the styles are primarily glass.

I'm a "gold" collector, aspiring to the diamond level! Collecting HL's sure does get in your blood!

Just a thought - why is Coquille River so expensive when there are far fewer New Point Loma pieces available and they are more reasonable? Just wondering...

Barb

Too many people with extra New Point Lomas to sell means the price is more 'reasonable'. 950 New Point Lomas -- but how many per 'collector families'? If you and your non-collector spouse attended, you probably got 4. Maybe a family kid or two were also registered just so you (the collector) could buy 4 more NPLs @$70.

Maybe 300 collectors bought 950 pieces? (Just a guess). So even if each collector held back one extra for future growth -- besides the one in their curio -- there would be 350 available from 300 sellers.

Some sold a few extras right away. The going price (or trade value) for NPLs at the reunion was about $400-$450. A few weeks later, some were selling for $1,200. When the word got out that they were selling that high, (coinciding with the rise of ebay), those with extras decided a 'profit' of just a few hundred dollars would be good and the market has dropped down to about $450 again.

I expect when the 2001 Reunion rolls around, we'll see another surge in NPL prices as people will want the 'hat-trick' of all three Reunion Exclusives.

As the 'extras' get pulled out of closets and put up for sale, the NPL price will rise.

With Coquille #111, production got cut off. The product line was new. There were few 'dedicated' collectors. There were very few willing to speculate and buy up all the CH1, Burrows OR (or Burrows WA), Split Rock MI, and Coquille River pieces. (Some, just not many.)

The remainder of the Coquille River pieces were bought up by individual collectors -- and probably some by locals or tourists. That means few 'extras' were in the hands of collectors willing to sell.

So it's just supply and demand working the way it does. The supply of willing sellers is higher for NPL thus a lower price.

Thanks for your explanation John, it makes sense.

Barb

JC's analysis is of course correct. But I wonder just how many of those extra NPL's remain tucked away in closets. I also suspect the number of folks purchasing NPL at the 1st Reunion is more than 300.

Coquille has a certain mystique about it that has set it apart from just about every model except perhaps CH1. This mystique has a cache that translates to price and perhaps causes the owner a greater reluctance to sell. I also suspect most Coquilles that go up for sale have been on the market before. If you bought one a few years back for >1000 you're not likely to be letting it go for less. If you can't get that for it, you won't sell.

Not long after its release, NPL docked into the price bracket of CH2 and Portland Head. Not sure what that is today, but it had been in the $550-$800 range not too long ago. I have a theory that once a model finds its price niche relative to other pieces it tends to stay in that niche. Its price will go up or down relative to other pricing. Pieces towards the top of the price range will impact lower pieces. For a while NPL was the tide that lifted many boats.

This price niche theory offers an explanation as to why we haven't seen a rise in price for some pieces that are rare. Point Arena and Burrows Island are a couple examples. Of course there are other factors such as lighthouse location, tourist factor, history, and aesthetics that come into play.

If you find an NPL, or even better an NPL mini, at what you consider a reasonable price, buy it. Its a great model (nice palms!) with solid roots in HL history and only 950 people can own one. Its on my recommended Sweet 16 list.

Rgds,
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/im
[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 07-27-2000).]

I was curious as to how popular the actual Coquille River lighthouse is. Being east of the Mississipi, my vacation beach destination of choice is the Atlantic. I have made several trips to CA and have seen alot of the lighthouses in that state, however, I am less familiar with many of the west coast lights as a whole. To be honest I had never heard of Coquille River until the HL sculpture. Does it have a major "claim to fame?"

Doc John

Doc John:

As far as I am concerned, Coquille River has no claim to fame. It is probably the least impressive or interesting of all of the Oregon lights. Don't get me wrong, it's worth visiting and the small town of Bandon where it's located is a fun stop to shop and eat. But the light itself is nothing special.

Visiting the coast of Oregon (as well as Washington and Northern California) however is spectacular and there are many great lighthouses along the way.

Larry

I saw Coquille River at the Reunion and it really appealed to me - I guess the mystique that Tim was referring to - even though it is really very plain and doesn't have the charm of many of the early pieces. I would love to have it someday, but I agree that NPL full and mini are probably the best to seek because of their Reunion status.

BTW isn't Coquille a bed and breakfast, or is there one nearby?

Barb

Barb,

There is a B&B across the water from the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is an empty shell.

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-Art

http://www.lighthouselodging.com/index.html

Art,

Thanks for the info - doesn't it seem sad for any lighthouse to be an empty shell?

Thanks for the B&B link, it sure looks nice!

Barb