GLOWs the next Harbour Light collectable

The Lighted Glows are probably one of the rarest line of Harbour lights produced. The first lighted “Great Lighthouse of the World” was the Oak Island in April 2003 and the last one produced was the HL484 Whaleback in June 2010. Thirty-four of these were produced and generally sell for from $25 to retail.

Originally the GLOW’s were produced as open editions and were not considered collectables but as fillers for the hard to find retired limited editions. The idea was that more GLOWs could be made as they were needed, so there would never be a shortage of the popular lighthouse. Each batch produced would have a different ascending letter of the alphabet in front of the number starting with “A”. This worked well for the early years. An example would be the Cape Hatteras HL401 which had five production batches with the last one with the letter “E”. And even then Harbour Lights started all over again with a revised Hatteras HL401R.

As the years past collectors started losing interest with the Limited editions which created less of a demand and in return Harbour Lights produced less to compensate. Many of the retired hard to find lighthouses became available and for a reasonable price. This put a strain on the GLOW’s, that they were no longer needed as fillers and less of them were produced. The difference with the GLOW’s was that we never knew how many was produced, and since they were an open edition more could always be produced later down the line.

Since Harbour Lights is out of business all of the open edition GLOW’s are now limited editions. Ones like the HL401 Cape Hatteras that had over 27,000 made will never be a collectable but what about those made from 2008 to 2010. The limited edition Harbour Lights of that time period had a production of 550. Doesn’t it make sense that the GLOWs had a similar production amount?

I think that the collectors have been mindset that a GLOW is not a collectable. But those days are gone and if you follow eBay you will notice that post 2008 HL GLOW’s are hard to find just as the Limited Editions.

Very good write-up but nothing you say can replace the original 38 "UGLY" lighthouses produced.

The GLOWS have always been to me nothing more then a plaster beanie baby. I told Bill that one day and he really got upset. The GLOWS were a good marketing item to replace unobtainable limited editions but never really entered into the scheme of collectibles.

I do agree that most of the early glows were less desirable than the L.E. except for a few like HL434 St Joseph, HL 446 Diamond Head and the HL 426 Gross Point. I think these are better looking than the L.E.’s, But when it comes to the lighted models I like them. Especially the ones that has the keepers house lighting up with the lighthouse. Probably my favorite of the lighted Glows are the HL484 Whaleback and the HL458 West Quoddy.

The lighted Glows need to be looked at differently than the early model glows. These are not replacements they are enhancements. They are no longer fillers but a totally different style with more detail and lighting features.

My favorite "GLOW" was the Old Minot's Ledge, but I grew tired of the cord and switch and metal and plastic after awhile and did not consider it a Limited Edition...it became more of a novelty to me and I no longer have it in my collection.

Daniel,
Excellent train of thought. The late years produced GLOWS can be very elusive to find. I have gotten requests from customers looking for many of those and, for me, they have been hard to find. Main reason is that these were purchased by customers who only have a couple of lighthouses in their homes for show. It's either because they just liked the looks of the piece or perhaps had visited the lighthouse and personally developed a connection with it. By the time these were released, the collector that had to have everything that HL produced was no longer collecting due to space or financial limitations, age, etc. These GLOWS are the ones that, when the piece has run its' course for the owner's interest, will either just be thrown away or will end up in a local thrift shop or "swap shop", or it's up in the attic or down in the basement with the old wall hangings and knick-knacks.