1. Harbour Lights Coquille River Retired Limited Edition #111 $850

For the end of this year the coquille has been going for $830 to $950. At this time I would place the Ebay value for a coquille at that range. But I would not consider $1200 to high for the asking.

This is still one of the big favorites of Harbour Light collectors and it is hard to find even with Ebay, One may ask why is the coquille so hard to find when it had a production of 1138? There are many Harbour Lights out there with production numbers way less than the coquille and they can be had for under $200. What makes a coquille so hard to find and valuable? Of course we all know that the price is dictated by supply verses the demand. The Coquille being a collectable, collectors should have scoped it up right away when it retired.

Well it didn’t happen that way. The coquille was an unpopular lighthouse as sales were concern, so when HL realized that the mold was incorrect having 6 sides instead of the actual eight, they decided in Feb 1993 just to retire the lighthouse. Harbour Lights was getting relatively popular with the Great lakes & New England lights of 92 and the southern Bells for 93. Harbour Lights popularity was growing but the only way a collector knew about HL or what was going on was thru their dealer. The early retirement of the coquille was reaching collectors by word of mouth from sales reps to dealers to collectors. For those that had registered their lighthouses were starting to receive newsletter in the fall of 93 from Harbour lights but even then it wasn’t until the winter of 94 until the legacy announced the retirement of the Coquille, over one and 1/2 years after it happened.

After retirement the Coquille gradually reached a secondary market value of $200 with a continuous climb until over a year and a half later it toped out at $1000 by the 1994 Christmas season. Even if collectors knew about the Coquille retirement it wasn’t till 1995 that collectors could actually try and find them at retail. Yes, There were some Secondary market dealers available but collectors in general didn’t know where to find them and if they did most collectors didn’t feel comfortable buying through them or paying the marked-up price.

Then the big break through happened. In the spring of 1995 Harbour Lights offered their first society kit and inside the kit was the list of all Harbour Light dealers. Also by 1995 Harbour lights popularity was busting out of the seams with new collectors that wanted to catch up and complete their collection. This was the year that collectors started manning their phone books and hunted down at retail the hard to find Portland head, Southeast Block, St Augustine, Cape Hatteras and of course the Coquille River.

This meant that the coquille had four years to be absorbed into the population, so when the new wave of collectors came about to hunt down the coquille, it was already hidden in the hands of novice and tourist that didn’t know what they had or die-hard established collectors that knew but would never sell. Another important factor was that Bill Younger started the sales routes in his area of the west coast so that most of the early coquille would have been sold in California, Oregon and Washington. I would guess that at least the first 250 of HL 101 thru HL 117 were sold to established dealers in this area. By 1995 Harbour Lights had a good dealership network across the country with the heavy collectors of the late 1990’s in the East Coast and Great Lakes regions. Allot of collectors had large phone bills and even made it harder for the rest to find the rare ones, which in turn, drove up the prices. Besides collectors a rush of Secondary market dealers appeared adding to madness. A Harbour Light market was created that we thought would never end and the value of the Coquille River kept escalating until it reached its peak in 1998 at $2800.

The following also added to the desire of collectors to have the Coquille.
1.It had a neat story about how it was made with six sides instead of the eight.
2.It was a missing link for collectors to have them all. Even though know a days most collectors have given up on collecting them all, back in the 90’s it was feasible and very popular to have them all, since there were only around a 100 then.
3.The coquille has had great advertising. If a collector were going to know anything about the early HL’s most likely it would be the story about the coquille. This is the best well known rare Lighthouse produced by Harbour Lights.
4.Of course the big driver for collecting the coquille is to have something that you cannot obtain easily.

I speculate that many of the coquilles have either been thrown away or still stuffed away in the Attics or garages of homes in Washington, California and Oregon. The rest are in the hands of collectors that will not part with them. It is sad to say but the only time you see the coquille for sale is when a long time collector dies and it is sold off by the heirs or if a collector needs money to pay off medical bills. I don’t expect the price to come down anymore. In today’s collectable market the fact that the Coquille just went for $850 on Ebay says allot.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbour-Lights-Coquille-River-Retired-Limited-Edition_W0QQitemZ270313638101QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDecorative_Collectibles?hash=item270313638101&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


2.Harbour Lights MISSPELLED 1 OF A KIND Mukilteo, WA $599

This went for the standard misspelled MUKILTEO value of $599, which is mid-range of what it has been going for years, $515 to $650 This is the second time for the MLKILTEO A0498 was on Ebay. (If the buyer would like to know the first time bid, email me). I would put all the MUKILTEO version together as the same value (except for the flat “U” version which is worth very little more than the regular MUKILITEO}, I do have my favorite misspelled being the UU version.
We have done many postings on this forum on why there are different versions of the Misspelled MULKILTEO and the Split rock. The first version (MULK) being the actual misspelled version that was misspelled during production. This version can be found on the numbers up to the A1600’s and on all the AP’s. The number of this variation is between 8 to 12 plus all the Artist proofs.
The UU version would be a touch-up that came from the factory and so far there is only one known which was swooped up on Ebay by one of our forum Saints for around $350. The MLK version is a stamping error that usually is one of a kind, except in this case there are two known, the A0498 and the A0698. The MLK version was known before the HL Collectors guide came out, but just got forgotten about until last year.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=190265276461


3. Harbour Lights Stonington Harbor PEWTER (Pre Gold Plated) --- $355 (Reserve not met)

Usually I post only the bids that won, but when it comes to unusual situations I make an exception. Well you cannot get it anymore unusual than a non-goldplated pewter Stonington Harbor. I believe this is the only Harbour light that I know absolutely nothing about. It does ring a bell and I do remember hearing something about it but that as far as it goes. If someone else wants to jump in and tell us about it, please do.

With all that said, I can still put a value on it. Obviously the bidders didn’t know if what they were bidding on was legitimate or not. As far as I can tell from the pictures it looks like a Harbour Light and the seller is reputable. The bids were to low and even with the information given I think if this went out to bid again we should see a bid as high as $600.

If the seller can get more information or even if more is supplied on this forum the bids will go higher. This may be the rarest Harbour light ever made, but it is a “no-body” as you come to HL collectables. HL collectors like to collect HL’s that they can at least say to themselves “I have something you don’t have”. In other words there are no bragging rights to a collectable that no one has heard of.

Back to its value. As I say with ”ALL” rare pewter made Harbour Lights with only one or even just a hand full made. It cannot be replaced so its replacement cost or its insurance values should reflect that. I would have no problem having it insured from $5,000 to $10,000. And if it was in a Harbour Light reunion situation with all the collectors in one room it may even be possible to sell it for that. But on an Ebay, even if the seller makes this lighthouse sound legitimate and is able to post a nice story about why it was made, the most that could be hoped for is $1200.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbour-Lights-PEWTER-Pre-Gold-Plated-RARE-RARE-RARE_W0QQitemZ170286509909QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDecorative_Collectibles?hash=item170286509909&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A16%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


4. USCGC Icebreaker Mackinaw by Harbour Lights $285.00

This is definitely on the high side of its value. I think someone wanted a to buy a Christmas gift for their Hubby. But Considering how popular the White hull version is I would say more bids like this is possible. Probably after the Christmas season a more general price of around $180 would be the mid range.

At this time I would put it’s Ebay value at $130 to$285 and its general midd range value at $ 200

While I have everyone’s attention I feel that the hull color change with a smaller production was a brilliant marketing strategy and I would hope HL would try this general idea on a lighthouse. Maybe take a lighthouse that had its colors changed and make the first 300 with the first colors then make the rest with the established color of today.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbour-Lights-Anchor-Bay-USCGC-Mackinaw-White-Hull_W0QQitemZ140285230150QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDecorative_Collectibles?hash=item140285230150&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


5.Harbour Lights Burrows Island #108 Canadian w/ Rod $272.17

This one is in excellent condition and comes with original Castle Studios box.
I would put it on the high side of its value. Generally they can be found on Ebay from $150 to $250. Usually the Canadian versions run $50 to $100 more than the Malaysians. I would not devalue it at all because of the missing HL sticker. It is possible that it can still be acquired from Harbour Lights. But one note for those that want everything to be original. The Replacement Stickers from HL does not look exactly like the original. There are minor differences.

The burrows Island is another HL that is hard to find. Even thought it is a rare lighthouse it never use to be a popular lighthouse. Most collectors collect it today because it is rare and not because of any true love of the lighthouse or the sculpture. This lighthouse was so unpopular is why Harbour Light’s discontinued it in the summer of 1994 with a production of only 2563. But as soon as the word got out to the collectors that it was discontinued, it became: one of those collectables that collectors wanted because they couldn’t have one. By 1998 the Borrow Washington’s market value reached $350 and the Oregon version as high as $1100.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbour-Lights-Burrows-Island-108-Canadian-w-Rod-MINT_W0QQitemZ170285363539QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDecorative_Collectibles?hash=item170285363539&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


6. Harbour Lights West Quoddy Head HL#103 LOW Triple Digit $202.50

This is the going price for a “California made” West Quoddy with original box. If there was no box it could of gone as low as $60. This is one of the cases where a box is very important. If the box went on Ebay by itself you would see it go for around $60. As I said before about California made they are extremely rare and this being only the forth one I have seen on Ebay I feel that $202 is a bargain. The California made with original box are sleepers and when ever the Harbour Lights collecting recovers you will see these go for $400 plus.

You may be asking how I know it is a pure “California made” West Quoddy instead of a Canadian or even a California mold? I list the reasons:

1. Low number less than 180- the first 250 were under contract but never completed in California- by my research only, have I come up with this number.
2. The thick gray felt that covers the entire bottom as shown on Ebay. Not all gray felts identify California. There are those that are on higher numbered Lighthouses that are “made in Canada”.
3. Crude windows with deep holes.
4. Ventilator ball smaller with untouching and defined collar.
5. Heavy paint.
6. The number one sure shot way to identify a California made West Quoddy is the pink door and window sill/header.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbour-Lights-West-Quoddy-Head-HL-103-LOW-Triple-Digit_W0QQitemZ170279756444QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDecorative_Collectibles?hash=item170279756444&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


7. Harbour Lights Ocracoke HL#135 LOW Triple Digit $172.50

For today’s market the $172.50 is the going price for a Canadian Ocracoke with box. The standard price for a Canadian made about two years ago was around $300 to $400.
The Ocracoke was a late bloomer. Collectors were busy chasing after the other Southern Bells, the Southeast Block, Portland Head and the Cape Hatteras that most didn’t see Ocrakoke as a sleeper. It could still be found on dealer’s shelves into 1997. While collectors and secondary marketers where gathering up extras of the early Harbour Lights, the Ocracoke was left out and it was slowing absorbed into the public. By 2000 many of the big dollar Lighthouse were dropping in value and collectors added to the dilemma by unloading their extras. With Ebay in full swing it was not long till we saw the Cape Hatteras of $750 drop to $450, the Portland head of $700 drop to $350 and The St Augustine of $550 drop to $300. All of the hl Lighthouses where dropping in value except for two. One was the Big bay and the other was the Ocracoke The Ocracoke not only didn’t fall in price it actually was climbing in value. By 2002 it had a strong secondary market value of $350 to $450 and in 2003 one toped out on Ebay at $600.
The Ocracoke was the one Harbour light Collectable that was actually gaining in value and was very hard to find. It was the one Harbour Light that us long term collectors could say that we actually owned that was worth more than what we paid for. It looked like there was no end to the possibility of Ocracoke’s value. Then it happened, in the summer of 2004. That was the year Harbour Light came out with the Ocracoke GLOW. Almost immediately the Limited edition Ocracoke’s value dropped in half. There have been many debates over the years how the GLOWs damaged the Limited Editions value, but there was no real tangible proof until now. It was obvious that as soon as the GLOW hit the dealer shelves the HL135 started to devalue. It’s secondary market kept falling until its value became hand and hand with all the other Southern Bells.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbour-Lights-Ocracoke-HL-135-LOW-Triple-Digit_W0QQitemZ170279765465QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDecorative_Collectibles?hash=item170279765465&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


8. Harbour Lights, Burrows Island, WA Lighthouse #108 $107.00

This is the rare Oregon Version. It is pretty much the going price for one without a box. Yes this is very rare and I have counted only 10 ever being sold on ebay. What hurts this collectable is that there is no box. In some situations a box slightly affects the price but when you come to variations, the box can deduct $100’s from its value. The reasoning is that if a collector is going to collect something that is valuable, rare and desirable to other collectors, it must meat all the collectable criteria’s. Even thought a Burrow Island Oregon is rare with a production of less than 500, one with a box is even more rare. In the collectable world original packing is important. In the Harbour Light collecting world we are more fortunate than most collectables because the requirements for mint condition is not as stringent. The lighthouse can be displayed and may even have the paperwork or even the original peanuts missing and still get the MIB (mint in box) price. But don’t lose the box?
Ebay value of the Canadian made Oregon version without box $60 to $150 with box $250 to $400

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=140284119039

9. Harbour Lights Big Bay Point, Michigan FIRST Christmas Piece $96.28

My top ten on ebay report would not be complete without Big bay. Big Bay has been the most dependable and stable in value. From 1997 to 2006 It held a strong $200 value with highs of $280 and lows of $150. For most collectors it is the missing link to the Christmas set and is just a neat looking light.

The going price for Big Bay in todays slump economy is from retail to $120. I personally feel that $200 is its real value and if the sellers on ebay would not sell it for less than that they would get this price.

A note: Harbour Lights please never make the Big bay in a GLOW or any other type of remake other than maybe a LLOM or another ornament. This is one of the few Harbour Lights collectables that has been able to retain a secondary market even through today’s bad economic times. Don’t destroy its value with a GLOW.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbour-Lights-FIRST-Christmas-Piece-Big-Bay-Point-700_W0QQitemZ170285360427QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDecorative_Collectibles?hash=item170285360427&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


10. HARBOUR LIGHTS CAPE BLANCO, VILLAGE FIGURINE US $77.07

A California mold painted in Canada. Even though the pictures don’t show it, you can bet that the felt is Green.
This is the going price for a California mold Cape Blanco without the box. This is another example on how the lack of the box hurts the value. If it had the original brown Castle Studios box the price would have been between $120 to $180. Note the colorful painted bushes; this is standard for the early made Cape Blanco.
Remember the way to identify a California mold is to set it next to a Canadian or Malaysian made and compare the windows and doors. The windows on the California variation will be crude with deeper holes. If it has the green flocking it was painted in Canada.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270288490520

Excellent write up and information. Your reports are the most precise and knowledgeable that I have ever read. Thanks for the time and trouble that you go to every month or two.

Daniel, as always I appreciate your efforts and opinions regarding the ebay auctions. To say you are "a compendium of knowledge" may be selling you short. With regard to the Coquille you profiled, my wonderful wife of 41 years was the purchaser. It was a great Christmas morning. I now have the complete set of Harbour Lights LE's. The feeling is mixed. Only a die-hard collector would know it.

Looking forward to the next installment.

Great write up Daniel, as always !!!

Thanks you !!!

Excellent information for those of us who are always looking to see what is on ebay. Thanks for your efforts to keep us from frittering away our hard earned cash on something that is not worthwhile. Keep up the good work.

Great report. Thanks for sharing. Hal

Great report, Daniel! You are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Harbour Lights, and your reports reflect it.

The section on the pewter Stonington brought a flash back to my brain. Perhaps one of the other CF members will recall it too. I thought there was a pewter Stonington given away at the Baltimore Reunion. I forgot the total circumstances whether it was one of the prizes in a raffle of it was auctioned off. I think it may have been one of several prizes in a raffle. I kept my eye on it and a person (Was it you Randy?) grabbed it just before my ticket was pulled.

It makes me wonder if there may have been more than one pewter Stonington in this world.

Bob

Thanks for everyone’s kind words.
Since I am still on vacation I have been thinking of keep going on Ebay and list the next top ten. This would bring up some new blood and see some of the collectables that are still out there but are just not the front runners as the ones listed above.

Bob
I think you are right about the pewter Stonington being at one of the Reunions. Since I have never been to one I rely on what is said on this forum and since the reunion stuff except for 2005 is inaccessible there was no way to check.
Lets make all reunion topics and anyother topic of the past accessible


Lets make all reunion topics and anyother topic of the past accessible

You're right, Bob! My wife won the Stonington at Baltimore in 2001. It was stated to be silver plated, not pewter, but maybe it is. I'll have to get it out of the display case and check the weight when I get home from work today. There was only two, one owned by me and the other was owned by Nancy. I wonder if she still has hers? This could be the second one, which will not make it "one of a kind!"

Thanks for the info Randy and you too Bob.
I knew somebody would come thru and tell us about the pewter Stonington

Is this it again on Ebay? For those that remember him...Notice who the owner is?


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170294323855

And for those of us who are not in the know, who is the seller?

I don't know either but .... it say's that they are from Sunny California and that the piece belongs to Blair Andrews. Is this maybe one of the Youngers? Kim or other family member???

A former family member.

Blair was Kim's former husband.

Though Kim did not collect Harbour Lights her first husband did. I had no idea what his collection entailed but I always imagined that it was spectacular. Apparently it was.

Well the seller must have read my post and he is definitely listening to what I said. This light is now very interesting and has a story to it.

Should I post what it will go for or just don't intere?

Hint!!!
With this new story line of it being from Blair Andrew's collection just gave this collectable a bigger punch for its ebay value than I originally posted above.

That would be a great piece for some Stonington Lighthouse Society benefactor to purchase and donate to the lighthouse for display there..

By looking at the pictures in the ebay ad, it looks exactly like the one I have. As for being pewter, it doesn't have the weight as other pewter pieces. I wonder what it's made of?

Very interesting! Have seen this seller before but didn't realize there was a family connection!

Randy,... Pack it up and mail it to me. I'll have the metal content analyzed by my two personal forensic experts, Mr. Mo and Mr. Jesse. I should be able to ship it back to you in about ten years.

Bob

2004 Gold Event Exclusive and a six-sided Coquille up for bids now!

For those of you that are wanting a LE Coquille, there is one on Ebay now. The bid was at $200+ the last time I looked. There is also a gold plated 3 Sisters by the same seller from California that had the silver plated Stonington Harbor.

That gold Three Sisters is gorgeous! I want it, but I am restraining myself.

The LE Coquille is currently at $860 and the gold Three Sisters is at $300.