Is it necessary that the box # match the piece # and do they always write the box # on the box or label?

Chuck

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bigdragon

Most likely a mismatch between the box # and the flag # occured at a dealer.

The possibility of a lighthouse being shipped without a handwritten edition # on the flag is small, but not impossible.

Is the value of a piece with mismatched numbers on the box and flag affected? Depends on the buyer and the rarity of the piece. A mismatch on a Coquille River could be easy for a collector to overlook. What do others say?

It wouldn't matter to me. I don't collect boxes. I collect what comes in them.

The Lightkeeper
Mike

HL Sculpture & Original Box facts:

If you are building a collection and don't have a particular piece but see one offered without an original box at the right price, you buy it.

If you are building a collection and don't have a particular piece but see two offered, one with the original box and one without, and they are close in price, you buy the one with the box.

If you are building a collection and don't have a particular piece but see one offered with an original box but with a non-matching edition number, you buy it anyways.

If you already have a near complete collection but some of your limited editions don't have the original box, you buy one with an original box and sell the duplicate without the box.

That's my two cents worth.

Bob

If I wanted a particular piece and the price was right(what I was willing to pay), I would buy the piece and worry about the box later. Harbour Lights used to sell boxes separately and when they stopped, one of the Cust. Service Reps told me that if you had a box and it was a different serial number, it was accepatable to place a small sticker over the incorrect serial number and write the correct serial number on the blank sticker. She also said that if the box was incorrect for the piece, give them a call for the correct label, place the correct label over the incorrect one and renumber the box as above. Don't know if this is correct as I have always been fortunate enough to get the correct box (I always check before buying) and with auto ship there is never a problem. If you were to remark a box, and if you were to resell the piece at a later date, I would just inform the buyer and let them make their own decision.

Rich

I returned my double-digit Faulkner's Island- CT to Harbour lights because of a broken fence. When the replacement piece was retuned to me, it came with a white sticker on the box with the number on it. When I challenged Custom service about it, I was told they didn’t have any boxes and had to use one from an other piece and covered the number with the sticker. I wanted to return it to get a box with the matching number, but I was told it wouldn’t do any good.

I think this practice has changed. I sure complained enough. But at one time even Harbour lights coved up numbers on the boxes and renumbered them. I feel that boxes that are just one or two numbers away are hardly affected. But other than that, I will not buy any L.E. unless the number matches. Exceptions: Good deal on Coquille river, Cape Hatteras I or a made in California piece.

A perfect figurine brings a perfect price. This is especially true for the early white and brown box Harbour Lights. If a piece is complete with the right box, it can bring a healthy price on ebay. Sometimes just a little flaw like the number not matching can knock the price down.

Daniel

I have a couple of boxes with discrepancies. One was as a result of a dealers mistake. Another has a small white tag over the original number that now displays the correct number.

I had another "box numbering" incident at USCG HQ in Boston. I purchased an HL and remarked that the number on the piece didn't match the number on the box. The elderly saleswoman took out her pen and proceeded to alter the number on the box. "There you go, sir!" "Take it or leave it."

Bob