Since I've reactivated, I've been looking for retired pieces (some old and some recent), especially ones near where I'm from (i.e., Virginia). While looking for Cape Charles, I spoke to a dealer that said they had some items that were double digit serial numbers but that they'd have to charge more for them. I guess I have two questions:

1) Can a dealer charge more for a low serial number?

2) Why is #33 worth more than #133 or #3733? There's only one of each number. OK, I can kinda see where #1 might be desirable and I can kinda see where the last serial number produced would be a conversation piece...but why do low numbers command a premium?

Never heard of a dealer charging more for low serial number pieces--the dealer pays the same price for each piece, no matter what the number is.

As to why a lower number is worth more than a higher number on the secondary market, it may be just bragging rights. I've placed bids on eBay on lower-numbered pieces just because I'm partial to double- or single-digit pieces. If I won the auction, the higher-numbered piece then became a salable piece. Whether my having single- or double-digit pieces will enhance their price when my children sell them after I'm gone remains to be seen. In the meantime, I'm tickled knowing that I have a number of low-numbered pieces.

Sandy

I've always been interested in special numbers. I had a tendency to search out special numbers, not necessarily the lowest numbers, but rather numbers such as 111, 1111, 222, 2222, etc. I also like sequential numbers such as 123, 1234, 234, 2345, etc.

I also like the low numbers. I had two digit auto ships for years, and bought one of everything just to keep the two digit serial numbers.

When the Founder's Collection became available, I bought several of those to get the single digit. I mainly stayed with the older pieces and pieces from my area.

Nowadays, demand is so low that most people are not willing to pay extra for two or three digit serial numbers. It was a great run while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end.

Bob

I have to agree with Sandy, sounds like the dealer is attempting to so a little "secondary" market sort of thing. However, the dealer did not have to pay extra for the 2-digit pieces as long as the pieces were purchased from HL.

I have seen a dealer do something like this though, once a piece was retired, this dealer was charging more for that retired piece. He did that until Bill did a signing event at his store and found out about it, and the practice immediately stopped!

Interesting question for HL, HL dealers, or those who might know to answer as to what guidelines dealers are currently required to follow as to retired HL pieces.

With dealers selling new and unretired HL on eBay at below retail with seemingly little problems, I wonder.

It would seem to me that Dealers may not be required to follow any rules anymore since the change of ownership and the declining market. I would presume that because Lighthouse Depot is selling way below retail when they feel like it, that dealers have the same option, unlike the past.

When a piece retired in the past the remaining unsold pieces were destroyed or put out to pasture never to be sold again(at least we thought so until the unsold Society Pieces from years past surfaced and were put up for sale to anyone that wanted then(Society members or not). With that philosophy of never being sold after retirement out the window, anything would seem fair in love and war as long as HLs sells their product and collects the cash in advance. I'm sure they could care less what the dealer sells their's for. Of course, this is just my take on this subject and I have no facts to back my theories up with.

Even in the old days some dealers would charge the current value on a retired piece, and some would maintain the list price many years later.
Since I discovered HLs in 99, it was important to find a deaker who was loyal to his customers. My guy even found some old ones in his basement, and offered them to his best customers at original price. Ah the fun of the chase and find!
This was my addictive part of collecting Harbour Lights.

This is a question that has been asked many times through the years. The first person that wrote about Harbour Lights and set the very game rules that we follow today was Jim Rutherford.
He felt that the desire for collecting low numbers developed from early days of people collecting lithographs. The low numbers had a better print quality and therefore was sought after and was worth more.

I personally, as a veteran collector feel differently. I went threw many stages of collecting just to satisfy my collecting hunger. At first it was satisfying enough just to go to my dealer and buy whatever lighthouses were available at the time. Then I started to hunger for the lights that where no longer found at my dealer. So I stretched out to other dealers to the point of making phone calls and special trips. This only lasted so long until I realize that to fill some of the holes in my collection I would have to get involved in the secondary market.

My collection grew to the point where I had a complete collection of the first 80 HL.
So where to go after that. How was I to keep my collecting fun and have something that the novice collector didn’t have? I then got involved in an auto shipment of matching double-digit numbers. This gave me as mentioned above: “Bragging Rights”. Something that made me part of a special secret collecting club that put me into the super collector category or at least in my own mind.

It didn’t stop there, I went back over the first 38 that I collected and started to collect them all over again in the Canadian version. But that still wasn’t enough. I again when back over the first 50 and collected them all in double digits and in a few cases AP’s, paint samples and founders collection pieces.

At times I felt I was alone but all it was that I was going thru different collecting stages. Some collectors quit at the first stage and never really understand the die heart collector, while others of the true collecting wackos like me follow the cycle out to the last stages.

Yes the double digits are more valuable to the die-heart collectors and are in more of a demand than the higher numbered lighthouses thus making the double digits more valuable.

My original agreement with Harbour Lights stated that I had to sell all of my LE's at list price as long as the piece was active. Once retired, I could charge more for the piece if I so chose.
That agreement seems to be moot today. LHD has changed the rules as far as I and a number of other dealers are concerned and the integrity of the dealer agreement has been thrown out the window.

DANIEL--Maybe you could review for Gobbler Gus and others interested what is known about when and where new HL pieces are numbered nowadays AND in the past.

I think the first HL out of the molds nowadays may end up with numbers that have no relationship to their production order. And maybe new HL arrive from the factory without numbers and may get pulled at random to have their numbers put on here at HL in Maine. Seems like it may have been different in the past??

Max

I emailed Tony about this to make sure before I posted anything, Max..
Nothing has changed how they number the replicas, since the sale of Harbour Lights.. They did assign a SKU# to the group of the Society pieces, the two lighthouses and the pin so that the collector buying both lights would get matching numbers..

Thanks for checking Paul. The labor involved does make sense to do in China.

Any idea what they're doing with all the numbered HL still at the warehouse after the pieces retire and dealer's aren't requesting them much anymore?

And when dealers request a HL replica either retired or not, does HL try to send the lowest numbers in stock out?

Max

I believe it is just what ever the warehouse grabs since they are all bar coded now.. I will confirm with Tony..